Copaifera baumiana
Family: Fabaceae
What it is like
A small shrub. It can grow 3 m tall. It has woody rootstock. The small branches are brown. There are fine cracks along them. The leaves have leaflets along the stalks and one at the end. There are 4-5 pairs of leaflets and they are 3-5 cm long by about 1 cm wide. They are often unequal and rounded at the tip and with a wedge shaped base. The flowers are in the axils of the leaves and at the ends of the branches. The flowers are tightly packed and 5-7 mm long. The fruit is a pod with one seed. It is 2.5-3 cm across. It is almost round but flattened. The seed is 15 mm long by 12 mm wide.
There are 35-40 Copaifera species. They are tropical trees. Several Copaifera have the aril or layer around the seed edible. van Roosmalen, M.G.M., 1985, Fruits of the Guianan Flora. Utrecht Univ. & Wageningen Univ. p 181. Also as Caesalpinaceae.
Where it is found
A tropical plant. It grows on Kalahari sands and in grassland and woodland. It grows between 750-1,400 m altitude.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Angola, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Zambia
How it is used for food
Edible parts
Seeds
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Mukuwa