Live-long
Lannea acida

Family: Anacardiaceae

What it is like

A small tree. It grows 10 m high. The trunk is 2-3 m around. It loses its leaves during the year. The bark is silvery grey and develops cracks when older. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk and one at the end. There are 3-7 leaflets. The leaflets are 6-10 cm long. Male and female flowers are on separate trees. The male flower spikes are 12-14 cm long. The fruit hang in clusters. They are 1.2 cm long. They are red to purple-black. They have a bloom or covering. The fruit are edible.

There are (7) 40 Lannea species. Probably all Lannea have edible fruit. The leaves are 67% carbohydrate, 18% protein, and 5% minerals.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. Kano state in North Nigeria. It grows in the savannah especially in rocky situations and needs a rainfall of 635 mm per year. It grows in the Sahel. It can tolerate bush-fires. It can grow in arid places. It can grow in poor soils.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, West Africa

How it is used for food

The young leaves are cooked and eaten. The fruit are eaten raw and also used for drinks. They are also used for alcoholic drinks. The fruit are also dried. The gum is edible.

Edible parts

Leaves, fruit, gum, vegetable

How it is grown

It can be grown from seeds. Seeds are hard to get to grow.

Fruit mature in 30 days.

Its other names

Local names

Bambedja, Bembe, Bembem-hei, Bembo, Betolodje, Doto, Faru, Kuntunkuri, Lebew, Manrova, Mantede, M'pekou gueleni, Mupemi, Sabaga, Sabtulga, Sorohi, Sunsugere, Tchingole, Ututene

Synonyms

Calesium acidum (A. Rich) Kuntze; Lannea egregia Engl. & K. Krause; Lannea microcarpa Engl. & K. Krause; Odina acida (A. Rich.) Oliv.;