Tetracera alnifolia

Family: Dilleniaceae

What it is like

A creeper or climber with several stems. It can be 20 m long. It can also be a shrubby tree 8 m high. The stems can be 10 cm across. Young stems can have flattened hairs. The leaf blade is 15 cm long by 8 cm wide. It is broadly oval. There are many white flowers in branched clusters at the ends of branches. These are in clusters 20 cm long by 10 cm wide. The fruit are 1 cm long by 0.8 cm wide. They are dull red. There are a few seeds. These are 5 mm across and black and shiny.

There are 40 Tetracera species. They occur in the African and Asian tropics. There are 15 species in tropical America.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in grassland, savannah and on the edges of forests in West Africa. It also grows in forests along rivers. In Nigeria it has been recorded at 1,440 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Congo R, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, West Africa, Zambia

How it is used for food

The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable. The sap from the stem is used as a drink.

Edible parts

Leaves, stem sap, vegetable

How it is grown

Plants can be grown by seeds.

Its other names

Local names

Akotopa, Cilengwa, Eberigom, Goroluga, Kpwo-ngo, Mbembi, Permiss

Synonyms

Tetracera alnifolia var. podotricha (Gilg.) Staner; Tetracera djalonica A. Chev. ex Hutch. & Dalziel; Tetracera podotricha A. Chev.; Tetracera podotricha Gilg.;