Brown-berry fluted milkwood
Chrysophyllum gorungosanum

Family: Sapotaceae

What it is like

A tall evergreen tree. It grows 30-40 m tall. It has a straight slender trunk which branches after about 16 m. It has a small spreading crown. The trunk is fluted. Young parts of the tree are covered with golden-brown fairs. The bark is light grey. It has cracks along its length. The leaves are narrow and oblong. They are stiff and 7-15 cm long. They narrow towards the leaf stalk. The leaf stalk is 2.5 cm long. The upper surface of the leaves is dark green and shiny. The lower surface is covered with brown to silver hairs. The midrib and veins are prominent under the leaf. There are 10-17 pairs of side veins clearly curved towards the leaf tip. The flowers are yellow and very small. They are in short stalked clusters beside the leaves. The fruit is oval and 4 cm long. It has dense brown hairs which rub off in patches. There are 3-5 flat seeds inside the fleshy fruit.

There are about 80-150 Chrysophyllum species. They are mostly in tropical America. There are 44 species in tropical America.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in lower mountain forest in Uganda. It occurs in evergreen forest.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Southern Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The fruit is eaten. They are also used for jam.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. They can be sown direct or in pots then transplanted. For seed the fruit are collected after falling to the ground then crushed and the seed extracted. Seed can be stored in a cool place. Shade should be provided for young plants.

Its other names

Local names

Chifila, Mucasi, Muchanje, Muchanza, Mufu, Umutooyi

Synonyms

Chrysophyllum boivinianum auct.; Chryosphyllum fulvum S. Moore;