Blighia, Triangle tops
Blighia unijugata

Family: Sapindaceae

What it is like

A tree. It can be 17-30 m tall. It grows taller in tropical places. The trunk is grey often with a red tinge. The branches are grooved and hairy and droop. The leaves are dark green. The leaves have 1-5 pairs of leaflets. These are almost opposite. They are oblong with a drawn out point. They are 4-15 cm long. The young leaflets are pink. The flowers are white and in the axils of leaves. They are in clusters 8 cm long. The fruit is a capsule are triangular in shape. These are 2.5 cm wide. They are pink and leathery. They become hard with age and split open. They are bright crimson inside with shiny black seeds. These are 1.3 cm long. The seeds are edible.

There are 4 Blighia species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is native to tropical West Africa. It grows in swamp forests and along streams. In Zimbabwe it grows up to 1,200 m above sea level. It is often on termite mounds. In Nigeria recorded at 1,440 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, East Africa, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Tanzania, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Edible parts

Seeds, fruit, leaves

How it is grown

The seed germinate easily.

Young trees are fast growing.

Its other names

Local names

Bebi, Beleque-sule, Bissabe, Democori, Firifora, Ishin oko, M'but-bale, Mkivule, Murintima, Mutepe, N'timlake, Nhamarupovo, Osso-de-dari, Sataga-preto, Ukpe nehwi

Synonyms

Blighia zambesiaca Bak.; Phialodiscus unijugatus (Bak.) Radlk.; Phialodiscus zambesiacus (Bak.) Radlk.; Phialodiscus plurijugatus Radlk.