Quassia undulata

Family: Simaroubaceae

What it is like

A shrub or large tree. It can be 42 m tall. The trunk can be without branches for 24 m. The trunk can be 120 cm across. The trunk is straight and cylinder shaped. The bark can be smooth or cracked. It is grey and flaking. The leaves are compound and arranged alternately. There are 2-9 pairs of leaflets with a leaflet at the end. The leaves are 8-40 cm long and the leaflets are 2-20 cm long by 1-8 cm wide. The leaflets at the base and at the end are the smallest. The flowers can have one or both sexes. They are white or yellow and have a scent. The fruit is made up of 1-3 fleshy sections 2-4 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. They are flattened and purple or black and shiny. There is one seed in each section. Plants vary in leaf shape, flowers and fruit.

There are 40 Quassia species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It can grow in open grassland and in forests. It grows from sea level to 2,500 m altitude. It needs light to get established.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia

How it is used for food

The fruit is recorded as eaten but others claim it is not edible. The oil from the seed is extracted and then the seed cake is eaten. (The oil is used for soap.) Caution: It should probably only be eaten with proper preparation.

Edible parts

Fruit, seeds cake

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. Fresh seed should be sown. They germinate in 6-22 days. Seedlings grow slowly.

Its other names

Local names

Kunmuni, Munyamba, Munyonga, Mupembewila

Synonyms

Hannoa undulata (Guill. & Perr.) Planch.; Hannoa ferruginea Engl.; Hannia chlorantha Engl. & Gilg.; Hannia klaineana Pierre & Egnl.; Hannoa kitombetombe G. C. C. Gilbert; Hannoa njariensis G. C. C. Gilbert; Hannia longipes (Sprague) G. C. C. Gilbert;