Fruit trees we are looking for
Pentadiplandra_brazzeana
Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon
Bull Soc. Linn. Paris 1: 611 (1868)
Synonyms: Cercopetalum dasyanthum Gilg
Cercopetalum dasyanthum var. longacuminatum De Wild.
Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baill var. longacuminata (De Wild.) Pax & K. Hoffm.
Pentadiplandra gossweileri Exell
Local names: Bangangté: difeuh. Bobili: guipi
Origin, geographical distribution and ecology
Endemic species of tropical Africa, distributed from Cameroon to Angola and Congo. It grows in various forest environments: primary forests, secondary forests and even in formerly cultivated environments.
Description:
Shrub or liana up to 20 m long. Leaves alternate, simple; slippers elliptical to oblanceolate up to 15 x 5 cm, base cuneate, apex obtuse to acuminate, sometimes shiny to upper surface, veins prominent on both sides; petiole up to 10 mm.
Inflorescences: axillary or terminal raceme up to 2 cm long.
Hermaphrodite or unisexual flowers, pentamers; variously colored organs: elliptic to lanceolate sepals, green, purplish on the margins; petals lanceolate to oblanceolate; white or yellowish, spotted with red or purple at the top; 10-13 stamens attached to a thick androgynophora, white in color; 5-celled ovary with several ovules in female and hermaphrodite flowers.
Fruits: globose berries 2-4 cm in diameter, orange, spotted with white at maturity; pink pulp.
Many seeds in monosperm boxes.
Variability and conservation of the resource:
In its range, the species regenerates by seed germination. She likes open environments. Reproduction is by seed sowing. The growth of the young plant is fast.
The exploitation of this plant is irrational and destructive: cutting of the whole plant to harvest the roots, total picking of the fruits on the mother plants. Given this uncontrolled exploitation, the species should be domesticated and protected to prevent its extinction.
uses:
Pentadiplandra brazzeana has a great therapeutic value against hemorrhoids and kwashiorkor. This plant is also used as a remedy against lumbago (Noumi, 1984). The roots are sought after and used as spices by certain populations. Its fruit is an important source of sucrose sought by European and American laboratories working in the healthfood ("food"). Indeed, the fruit of Pentadiplandra brazzeana contains Brazzein, a very sweet substance, which gives it a place of choice among food industries (GRAIN, 2002). Nursing mothers use the fruit of Pentadiplandra brazzeana to wean their children; after consumption of the fruit, breast milk seems less sweet and tasteless, causing the child to refuse the breast (Hladik and Hladik 1998, Dounias 1996, repeated by RAE 2000 and Tabuna 2000). This fruit also has aphrodisiac properties (Kimpouni, 2000).
Bull Soc. Linn. Paris 1: 611 (1868)
Synonyms: Cercopetalum dasyanthum Gilg
Cercopetalum dasyanthum var. longacuminatum De Wild.
Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baill var. longacuminata (De Wild.) Pax & K. Hoffm.
Pentadiplandra gossweileri Exell
Local names: Bangangté: difeuh. Bobili: guipi
Origin, geographical distribution and ecology
Endemic species of tropical Africa, distributed from Cameroon to Angola and Congo. It grows in various forest environments: primary forests, secondary forests and even in formerly cultivated environments.
Description:
Shrub or liana up to 20 m long. Leaves alternate, simple; slippers elliptical to oblanceolate up to 15 x 5 cm, base cuneate, apex obtuse to acuminate, sometimes shiny to upper surface, veins prominent on both sides; petiole up to 10 mm.
Inflorescences: axillary or terminal raceme up to 2 cm long.
Hermaphrodite or unisexual flowers, pentamers; variously colored organs: elliptic to lanceolate sepals, green, purplish on the margins; petals lanceolate to oblanceolate; white or yellowish, spotted with red or purple at the top; 10-13 stamens attached to a thick androgynophora, white in color; 5-celled ovary with several ovules in female and hermaphrodite flowers.
Fruits: globose berries 2-4 cm in diameter, orange, spotted with white at maturity; pink pulp.
Many seeds in monosperm boxes.
Variability and conservation of the resource:
In its range, the species regenerates by seed germination. She likes open environments. Reproduction is by seed sowing. The growth of the young plant is fast.
The exploitation of this plant is irrational and destructive: cutting of the whole plant to harvest the roots, total picking of the fruits on the mother plants. Given this uncontrolled exploitation, the species should be domesticated and protected to prevent its extinction.
uses:
Pentadiplandra brazzeana has a great therapeutic value against hemorrhoids and kwashiorkor. This plant is also used as a remedy against lumbago (Noumi, 1984). The roots are sought after and used as spices by certain populations. Its fruit is an important source of sucrose sought by European and American laboratories working in the healthfood ("food"). Indeed, the fruit of Pentadiplandra brazzeana contains Brazzein, a very sweet substance, which gives it a place of choice among food industries (GRAIN, 2002). Nursing mothers use the fruit of Pentadiplandra brazzeana to wean their children; after consumption of the fruit, breast milk seems less sweet and tasteless, causing the child to refuse the breast (Hladik and Hladik 1998, Dounias 1996, repeated by RAE 2000 and Tabuna 2000). This fruit also has aphrodisiac properties (Kimpouni, 2000).