Bitter kola, Crab nut
Carapa procera

Family: Meliaceae

What it is like

An evergreen tree. It grows up to 25 m tall. The branches are crooked, spread out wide and curve over. It has a dense crown of leaves. The trunk is often fluted and the branches grow low down on the trunk. The bark is thin and smooth and dark grey. It has a gummy resin when cut. The leaves are very large and at the ends of the thick small branches. The young leaves are red then orange and change to green as they mature. They are divided into 6-9 pairs of leaflets. Each leaflet is oblong and about 25 cm long by 9 cm wide. The leaves have a rounded tip with a blunt point. The flowers are in a much branched head shaped like a pyramid. It is 70 cm long. Each flower has 5 yellow, pink and white petals about 1 cm long. The fruit is a large woody capsule 12-15 cm across. The fruit cracks open in 5 parts. There are 12-20 angular seeds inside. The seeds are 3 cm long and shiny dark brown. They have a rough pitted surface.

There are 25 Carapa species. There are 3 Carapa species in tropical America.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in the rainforest. It suits humid locations. It can also be in savannah woodland, palm groves and along river banks.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Colombia, Congo DR, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Gabon, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Peru, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Suriname, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa

How it is used for food

The seeds are used to make a type of butter. The ripe fruit are eaten raw.

It is commonly used in West Africa.

Edible parts

Seeds, fruit

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed. The seed germinate easily. Seeds should be planted within 2 months. The young plants should have light shade.

The plant is slow growing. In Congo fruit are available November to December.

Its other names

Local names

Bepale, Boco, Boculamape, Boncom-hadje, Boncom-o, Boru, Buaque, Bugwere, Bunhogone, Buweci, Carahane, Cola-amargoso, Cola-malegossa, Coque, Dona, Ebegogo, Engang, Gobi, Godjo, Irere, Karaba, Karapa, Kola-malgos, Malo, Mambodadje, Mbolu, Motoubeloube, Nanga, Ngan, Ngoze, Pada-di-kola, Punhe, Siti-malgos, Weti-krapa

Synonyms

Carapa grandiflora; Carapa guineensis Sweet ex A. Juss.; Carapa gummiflua C. DC.; Carapa microcarpa A. Chev.; Carapa surinamensis; Carapa velutina C. DC.; Carapa touloucouna Guillem. ex Perr.; Granatum surinamensis (Miq.) Kuntze; Trichilia procera Forsyth;