Lannea microcarpa

Family: Anacardiaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 15 m tall. The trunk is 70 cm across. The bark is grey. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are alternate and 25 cm long. They are compound with 2-3 pairs of leaflets and a leaflet at the end. The leaflets are oval and 5-13 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. The edges are slightly wavy. The top surface has resin dots. Trees are separately male and female. The flowers are in groups at the ends of branches. These are 15 cm long. The flowers are yellow-green. The fruit is oval and fleshy. It is 1.5 cm long with 4 small teeth on top. The fruit are purplish-black when ripe. There is one seed.

The bark is used for dye.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in savanna and on deep friable soil. It grows in the Sahel. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Senegal, Togo, West Africa

How it is used for food

The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable. The fruit are eaten raw or dried. A fermented drink is made from the fruit. The fruit can also be cooked and made into a sweet drink. The gum from the bark is soluble in water and is edible.

Fruit tend to be available in the drier more hungry season.

Edible parts

Leaves, fruit, gum, vegetable

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. Seed should be fresh. Seed don't store well at normal temperatures.

Its other names

Local names

Aku, Aso gidoka, Asogika, Bembeba, Farouhi, Faru, Issangnan, Jaakpeegna, Malga, Mussan, Npekuba, Sabga, Sabtulga, Sibga, Sisibah, Tamarza, Yoda kpigam

Synonyms

Lannea djalonica A. Chev.; Lannea oleosa A. Chev.;