Ecology and Biology of Uapaca kirkiana, Strychnos cocculoides and Sclerocarya birrea in Southern Africa - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 334

Information on population dynamics is almost non-existent, with one study by
Frost (2000) showing S. cocculoides contributing less than 1% to canopy cover
at a site in Kataba Forest Reserve in Zambia.
Ecosystem functions
The fruit is rich in sugars, essential vitamins, minerals, oils and proteins. The
ripe fruit is eaten fresh or is used to prepare a sweet-sour non-alcoholic drink
(Fox and Norwood Young, 1982). The tree produces a hard wood with a
straight bole suitable for construction. The soft, white pliable wood is very
tough and it is used to make tool handles and building materials (ICUC, 2004).
The seeds contain strychnine, which is toxic. The fruit is used to make a dye
that provides protection from insects and for colouring trays and containers. S.
cocculoides roots are chewed to treat eczema while a decoction is drunk as a
cure for gonorrhoea. The fruit is used in making eardrops, and a fruit
preparation is mixed with honey or sugar to treat coughs. Ground leaves are
used to treat sores, and after they are soaked in water the drained liquid is used
as a spray for vegetables to repel insects such as aphids and scales (ICUC,
2004).
Strychnos cocculoides has been planted as a boundary or barrier around
homesteads. Farmers in semi-arid areas normally leave the species on their
farm land to use as a shade tree, which is especially valuable for fruit and
timber trees. It is semi-cultivated and can be raised in the nursery and planted
on a cleared site. Saplings need to be protected from fire. This species seems to
be affected by mycorrhizas and may therefore play an important role in the
miombo ecosystem.
Biology
Strychnos cocculoides flowers during the rainy season, and the fruit ripens in
the dry season. It takes 8-9 months from flower fertilization to fruit ripening.
The flowers are small, about 5 mm in diameter, greenish to creamy white,
borne in dense terminal cymes, up to 3.5 cm in length. The fertile flowers are
said to be hermaphrodite and homostylous (styles of the same length) and
pollination is by insects (entomophilous pollination). Fruits are circular,
1.6-10 cm in diameter, with a smooth, woody shell that is dark green with
paler mottling when young, turning yellow after ripening. The seeds are
numerous; they have a hard coat and are compressed to 2 cm in diameter and
embedded in a fleshy pulp that when ripe is juicy and yellow.
Strychnos cocculoides regenerates naturally by seed, coppicing or root
suckers. Seed storage is semi-orthodox, with a shelf life of at most 2 months at
room temperature. Mkonda et al . (2004) found that fruit size varied
considerably among provenances within and between countries. Fruit weight
ranged from 145 g in Tanzanian provenances to more than 360 g for Murelwa
and Chihoto provenances from Zimbabwe.
Knowledge about the domestication of S. cocculoides has increased
substantially in the last decade. Strychnos species are known to be difficult to