Djoun
Carapa grandiflora

Family: Meliaceae

What it is like

A tree. The trunk is fluted. It grows 25 m tall. The leaves are alternate and compound with an even number of leaflets along the stalk. There are 6-18 leaflets. The leaves are crowded towards the ends of the branches. The leaflets are opposite. The leaves are 1.5 m long. The blades are 40 cm long by 16 cm wide. The leaves are bright red when young. They are oval and unequal and wedge shaped at the base and taper to the tip. The flowers are in a pyramid shaped group. The fruit is a flattened round shape and 12-15 cm across.

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

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows near rivers and in lowland and lower mountain forests. In Nigeria it is recorded up to 1,800 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Burundi, Central Africa, Central America, East Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa

How it is used for food

The seeds produce edible oil.

Edible parts

Seeds - oil

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Mlangale, Mutongana, Omuruguya

Synonyms

Carapa procera DC.;