Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Synonyms —
Calceolaria enneasperma
(L.) Kuntze.,
Ionidium rhabdospermum
Hochst.,
Polygala frutescens
Burm. f. ex DC.,
Solea enneasperma
Spreng.,
Viola guineensis
Schumach. &
Thonn.
Family —
Violaceae
African Names —
Igbo: usolala-ocha; Tuareg (Arab): alwaas; Yoruba: abi-were
Description —
This an erect herb, up to 50 cm, usually with one or more vertical branches aris-
ing from the base and a slightly ribbed stem. The leaves are opposite or alternate on the stem and
branches and are broadly lanceolate or long and narrow, with a sharply pointed apex; they are 4-7
cm long and 0.5-1 cm broad. They have very distinct lateral veins and toothed margins. The plant
produces small lilac or bluish flowers with 5 tiny sepals and a corolla of one large (usually colored)
petal and two tiny (whitish) ones. The flowers are borne solitary in the axils of the leaves, on long
stalks. The fruits occur as tiny 6-seeded capsules crowned with persistent styles.
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Habitat and Distribution —
It grows wild in deciduous forests.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The leaves are used for the preparation of a remedy for irregular
bowel movement. The plant is used to garnish the food of pregnant women, especially before child-
birth and after delivery as a general tonic. It is a common ingredient in Yoruba agbo
infusions for
young children.
IRVINGIA GABONENSIS
Botanical Name —
Irvingia gabonensis
(Aubry-Lecomte ex O'Rorke) Baill.
Synonyms —
Irvingia barteri
Hook.f.,
Irvingia caerulea
Tiegh.,
Irvingia duparquetii
Tiegh.,
Irvingia erecta
Tiegh.,
Irvingia griffonii
Tiegh.,
Irvingia hookeriana
Tiegh.,
Irvingia platycarpa
Tiegh.,
Irvingia tenuifolia
Hook.f.;
Irvingia velutina
Tiegh.;
Mangifera gabonensis
Aubry-Lecomte
ex O'Rorke.
Related Species —
Irvingia wombolu
Vermoesen (APG =
Irvingia tenuinucleata
Tiegh.),
Irvingia excelsa
Mildbr.
Family —
Irvingiaceae
Common Names —
African bush mango, dika bread, dika bread tree, dika nut, wild mango,
sweet bush mango, ogbono
African Names —
Igbo: ugiri, ogbono, Odika; Yoruba: apon, oro; Hausa: biri, goron; Cameroon:
etima; Gabon: oba; Ivory Coast: odika, ogbono, sioko; Sierra Leone: bobo; Zaire: meba, mueba
Description —
The genus
Irvingia
comprises 7 species, 6 occurring in tropical Africa. Two
of the species,
Irvingia gabonensis
(
ugiri
) and
Irvingia wombolu
(APG =
Irvingia tenuinucleata
Tiegh.), are closely related and difficult to distinguish from each other.
Irvingia gabonensis
has
edible fruit pulp, while that of
Irvingia wombolu
(
adoh
) is bitter and inedible. The seeds from both
species are used as soup thickeners in West Africa. Both species are called bush mango, but
Irvingia
gabonensis
is referred to as rainy season bush mango, and
Irvingia wombolu
is called dry season
bush mango to reflect their respective fruiting periods. They can also be differentiated in commerce
as sweet bush mango for
I. gabonensis
and bitter bush mango for
I. wambolu
.
Sweet African bush mango is a small-to-large tree, up to 40 m tall; the bole is generally straight,
up to 100 cm in diameter, with buttresses up to 3 m high; outer bark is smooth to scaly, gray to yel-
low-gray, and inner bark is yellow and fibrous; the crown is spherical or taller than wide and dense.
Leaves are alternate, simple, and entire; stipules are up to 4 cm long, unequal, and forming a cone
protecting the bud, caducous, leaving an annular scar on the branches; the petiole is up to 5 mm
long; the blade is elliptical, 4.5-8 × 2-4 cm, the base is cuneate, the apex is acute or indistinctly
acuminate, thinly leathery, and pinnately veined. Inflorescence occurs as an axillary panicle up
to 9 cm long. Flowers are bisexual, regular, 5-merous, and small; the pedicel is up to 5 mm long;
sepals are free, 1-1.5 mm long; petals are free, 3-4 mm long, and yellowish white; stamens are 10,
