Agroforestree database This database provides detailed information on a total of 670 agroforestry tree species. It is intended to help field workers and researchers in selecting appropriate species for agroforestry systems and technologies. For each species, the database includes information on identity, ecology and distribution, propagation and management, functional uses, pests and diseases and a bibliography. This project has been funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID, the European Union and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). |
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| Abelmoschus moschatus | Abelmoschus moschatus is a delightful, soft, herbaceous trailing plant, 0.5-2.5 meters high with soft hairy stems and a long slender tap root. It has an underground tuber and dies back to this tuber in the dry season, emerging again with the first substantial rains of the wet season.
Flowers regular, bisexual, involucral bracts 8-12, hibiscus-like, usually watermelon pink but sometimes white or cream - always with a dark center, very prolific and are borne between October and April in some places, depending on the timing of the wet season.
The generic name Abelmoschus is derived from Arabic ‘abu-l-mosk’ (father of musk) in allusion to the smell of the seeds whereas the specific epithet means ‘musk smelling’. |
| Acacia erioloba | A large, spreading tree, 9-10 (max. 18) m high, branching about 2 m above the ground; occasionally a shrub barely 2 m tall; crown rounded, dense, spreading up to 18 m; branches drooping at the ends; sapwood yellow and the under bark is reddish; bark dark greyish-brown to blackish, rough, fibrous, fissured, often flaking off in thick, woody strips when old; young twigs shiny, purplish or reddish, without hairs, distinctively zigzag shaped; taproots, long. Leaves with 2-5 pairs of pinnae, each bearing 8-15 pairs of bluish-green leaflets 4-10 x 1-4 mm, remaining conspicuously green in the dry season; thorns dark brown, later grey or whitish, in pairs at the nodes, stout and straight, 1-5 cm long, at right angles to each other and pointing in the opposite direction to the previous pair; base of older thorns often inflated into an enlarged ant-gall 0.5-2 cm wide. Inflorescence consists of a ball of bright golden yellow, solitary or clustered, fragrant flowers. Pods green, broad, large, 1.3-2.5 cm thick but flattened, spongy within, half-moon shaped, 6-13 x 1.8-6.5 cm, curved through to 90-180 degrees, semi-woody, indehiscent, covered in dense grey hairs and containing hard, brown seeds that lie in several rows; some pods thin, round and long. The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning a point or a barb. The scientific name ‘erioloba’ is Latin for ‘half-moon shaped’, referring to the shape of the pods. |
| Acacia karroo | Acacia karroo is an evergreen tree 3-15 m tall, rarely shrubby; bark on trunk dark red-brown to blackish; young branchlets glabrous or rarely sparsely and inconspicuously puberulous, also with small inconspicuous pale to reddish sessile glands; epidermis flaking off to expose a dark rusty red, not powdery under bark, sometimes grey to brown and persistent; stipules spinescent, up to 7 (max. 17) cm long, rather robust, whitish, often deflexed, sometimes fusiform-inflated, up to 1 cm or more. Leaves with small to large (sometimes paired) gland at the junction of each pinna-pair, rarely lacking at the basal 1-2 pairs; sometimes a large gland on the upper side of the petiole; pinnae 2-7 pairs; leaflets 5-15 pairs, 4-7 x 1-3 mm, glabrous or rarely with minutely ciliolate margins, glandular, obtuse to subacute but not spinulose-mucronate at the apex; lateral nerves invisible on the underside. Flowers deep or golden yellow, in axillary pedunculate heads 8-12 mm in diameter borne along shoots of the current season, sometimes aggregated into leaflets’ terminal racemes. Calyx 1.25-2 mm long, subglabrous; corolla 2.5-3 mm long, glabrous or almost so. Pods dehiscent, 6-16 x 0.6-0.9 cm, linear, falcate, usually constricted between the seeds, glabrous except for small usually inconspicuous glands; seeds olive-green to brown, 5-8 x 3-5 mm, oblong-elliptic, compressed; areole 4.5-5.5 x 2-3.5 mm. The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning a point or a barb. The specific name ‘karoo’ does not signify that this is a species of the Karroo alone, but that it is a principal and most conspicuous tree of this semi-desert of southern Africa. |
| Acacia koa | Acacia koa is a large, evergreen tree to 25 m tall, stem diameter to 150 cm at breast height. Trees occurring in dense, wet native forest stands typically retain a straight, narrow form. In the open, trees develop more spreading, branching crowns and shorter, broader trunks. A. koa has one main tap root and an otherwise shallow, spreading root system. Bark gray, rough, scaly and thick. A. koa belongs to the thorn-less, phyllodinous group of the Acacia subgenus Heterophyllum. Young seedlings have bipinnate compound true leaves with 12-15 pairs of leaflets. Where forest light is sufficient, seedlings stop producing true leaves while they are less than 2 m tall. True leaves are retained longer by trees growing in dense shade. Phyllodes are sickle-shaped and often more than 2.5 cm wide in the middle and blunt pointed on each end. Inflorescence is a pale yellow ball, 8.5 mm in diameter, 1-3 on a common stalk. Each inflorescence is composed of many bisexual flowers. Each flower has an indefinite number of stamens and a single elongated style. Pods are slow to dehisce, 15 cm long and 2.5-4 cm wide. They contain 6-12 seeds that vary from dark brown to black. The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning point or barb. |
| Acrocarpus fraxinifolius | Acrocarpus fraxinifolius is a stately deciduous tree, attaining heights of 30-60 m; stem cylindrical, free of branches for up to 75% of its total height. Even above its massive plank buttresses, it can achieve a diameter of over 200 cm. The branches remain relatively thin and are horizontally deployed. Bark is thin and light grey in colour. Although a legume, it apparently does not have nitrogen-fixing nodules. A. fraxinifolius is deep rooting, sometimes upto 4.5 m into the soil. Leaves bipinnate, about 30 cm with 3-4 compound leaflets and consisting of 5-6 elliptical, lanceolate leaflets 7-10 cm long and arranged in pairs; bright red when young, giving the tree its characteristic appearance. Flowers appear on tree when leafless, up to 20 dense heads hanging down from branch ends, each 12 cm long, dripping nectar from the reddish-green to orange flowers. Fruit an elongated and flattened pod, long-stipitate, narrowly winged; (min. 3) 10-18 seeded. Seed slightly lens shaped, brown. |
| Afzelia quanzensis | Afzelia quanzensis is a deep-rooted, deciduous tree, 4-24 (35 max.) m high, with a huge, spreading crown; straight trunk up to about 1 m in diameter; bark quite smooth, grey-green or creamy-brown to pale grey, seamed crosswise or beautifully patterned with raised rings that flake off irregularly in circular patches. New foliage is copper coloured and glossy, becoming dark green with age; leaves alternate, 30 cm long, divided once, made up of 4-7 pairs of oval or elliptic leaflets, usually about 4-13 x 3-7 cm, shiny, smooth, with wavy edges, borne on very short stalks that are twisted and swollen at the junction with the twig; apex generally rounded or obtuse and slightly notched; base cuneate or rounded. Buds long, green, well-shaped, in rather short terminal racemes, opening into fragrant flowers that have 4 green, boat-shaped sepals 0.9-1.7 cm long, from which protrudes a single flaring, orange-red petal with yellow veining, which is bilobed, up to 2.5 cm long (other petals are reduced to small scales); stamens puffy, long and white. Only 1 flower head opens at a time. Fruit large, thick, hard, smooth, dark brown, flat, woody pod, usually up to about 12-23 (30 max.) cm long, 5-10 cm wide, 1.9 cm thick; 6-10 seeds, hard, shiny, oblong, black beans, with a red or orange aril. ‘Afzelia’ is named after Adam Afzelius of Uppsala, Sweden, who lived in Sierra Leone; ‘quanzensis’ is named after the Cuanza River in Angola. |
| Artocarpus camansi | Artocarpus camansi is a moderately fast growing, single-stemmed, evergreen tree of 10-15 m or more with a trunk 1 m in diameter or larger, often growing to a height of 5 m before branching; a spreading canopy of diameter about half of the tree height and a more open branching structure than breadfruit (A. altilis) or dugdug (A. mariannensis). The tree forms buttresses at the base; roots spread and grow on or slightly below the surface. Sticky, white, milky latex is present in all parts of the tree. Leaves alternate, large, 40–60 cm long, moderately dissected with 4–6 pairs of lobes and sinuses cut half way to the midrib. New leaves on young trees can be 76 cm long or more; densely pubescent, with many white or reddishwhite hairs on upper and lower veins, lower leaf surface, and petiole. Blade is dull green with green veins. Two large green stipules enclose the bud, turning yellow before dehiscing. Flowers monoecious occuring at the ends of branches, with the male inflorescence appearing first. Male flowers are club-shaped, up to 3 cm in diameter and 25–35 cm long or longer. Female inflorescences consist of 1500–2000 reduced flowers attached to a spongy core. Unlike breadfruit, the individual flowers do not fuse together along their length. Fruit a large fleshy syncarp, oval or ovoid, 7-12 cm in diameter and weighs about 800 g; the skin dull green to green-yellow when ripe with a spiny texture from the pointed, flexible, long tips of the individual flowers; the scanty pulp yellow-whitish when ripe with a sweet aroma and taste. Seeds, 12-150 per fruit, rounded or flattened, about 2.5 cm long with a thin, light brown outer seed coat patterned with darker veins, weighs 7-10 g each and comprising 30-50% or more of the total fruit weight. Breadnut can be readily distinguished from its close relative, breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), by its very spiny fruits with little pulp and numerous large, light brown seeds. Artocarpus camansi has often been considered to be a form of seeded breadfruit. Breadfruit, however, is a separate species that originated from its wild seeded ancestor, breadnut. |
| Artocarpus mariannensis | Artocarpus altilis is a large evergreen, spreading canopy, single-trunked tree up to 20 m or more with buttressed trunks more than 2 m in diameter at the base often not branching below 5 m from the ground. The tree is shallow-rooted. Sticky white latex is present in all parts of the tree. The bark is smooth, brownish-gray, with new shoots purplish green. Leaves alternate, 15–30 cm long, broadly obovate to elliptic, typically entire or shallowly 1–3 lobed on the upper third of leaf. Blade is smooth, glossy, flexible, dark green with greenish-yellow veins and few hairs on upper veins. Two large green stipules enclose the bud and turn yellow before dehiscing. Flowers monoecious, occuring at ends of branches, with the male inflorescence appearing first. Male flowers club-shaped, up to 3 cm in diameter and 8–12 cm long. Thousands of tiny flowers with two anthers each are attached to a central spongy core. Female inflorescences consist of 1500–2000 reduced flowers attached to a spongy core. The flowers fuse together and develop into the fleshy, edible portion of the fruit. Fruit a small fleshy syncarp, cylindrical, kidney shaped or asymmetrical, about 15 cm long, about 500 g; skin dark green, even when mature, with a pebbly texture from the raised, flattened, hexagonal disks of individual flowers; pulp whitish-yellow when immature and deep yellow when ripe, with a sweet aroma and taste. Seeds large, dark brown, shiny, 1.5 cm long, with little or no endosperm, up to 15 per fruit. Artocarpus marianensis can be readily distinguished from breadfruit (A. altilis) by the small, typically entire leaves. The dark green, lumpy fruit is smaller and more asymmetrical than breadfruit, with a dark yellow pulp. Artocarpus camansi (breadnut, kamansi) has oblong, very spiny fruits with little pulp and numerous large, light brown seeds, and large, shallowly dissected leaves with 4–6 pairs of lobes. |
| Barringtonia procera | Cutnut is a medium-size fast growing, evergreen tree up to 24 m high but often range between 8-12 m with a crown diameter of 0.8–6 m and mature tree dbh of 2-45 cm. Cutnut produces a vigorous framework of branches following the formation of the terminal inflorescences. Leaves large, simple, lanceolate and arranged in a whorl at each node. Leaf size varies, typically measuring 21.5–66 cm long and 5–20 cm wide. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and glossy; the lower surface is slightly paler. Typically, the leaf has a truncated base and an acuminated apex, with undulated margins. Inflorescence racemose with a 30–110 cm long pendulous spike containing up to 150 densely packed flower buds, arranged in spirally alternate pattern, and varying in colors, typically from green to white or red. Flowering is terminal on the shoots. Flower buds are semisessile to sessile and are protected by a calyx closed in the bud, which ruptures into two to four pseudolobes. Fruits multiple, sessile, elongated, oblong to obovoid, tapering toward the apex and base, and borne on a pendulous rachis. At maturity they are indehiscent, but the skin can be easily peeled off when ripe. Length of a mature fruit varies between 25–95 mm. Seed or kernel is contained in a fibrous, white to purplish, cylindrical, eight-sided endocarp shell (prominent when exocarp and mesocarp are removed). Bark smooth at early stages of growth but becomes fissured as the trees grow older. Large lenticels up to 5 mm across are present. The tree has a relatively shallow taproot and a well formed network of lateral roots, concentrated in the topsoil layer. |
| Bertholletia excelsa | Bertholletia excelsa is a large tree, 40-60 m tall; trunk very straight for 20 m or more; diameter ranges from 2 to 4 m; bark grey-brown, 1.5 cm thick, resinous, with deep, narrow, longitudinal fissures that are reddish internally; crown 10-20 m in diameter and round or umbrella shaped; seedlings and adult trees develop strong taproots that may penetrate up to 3 m or more in heavy clays. Leaves simple, alternate, lack stipules and have petioles 2-6 cm long; blade oblong to elliptic, 17-45 cm long, 6.5-15.5 cm wide; apex rounded and acuminate; base rounded; leathery, coppery to bright green; margins wavy; veins prominent, especially on the leaf underside. Inflorescence terminal or in axillary panicles, 10-20 cm in length, with 10-40 subsessile, bisexual, globose flowers, 2-3 cm in diameter; calyx 15 mm long with subcircular concave lobes, enveloping the flower except for a narrow slit at the apex; 6 oblong, yellow-cream petals curve over a thick receptacle; stamens short and numerous; inferior ovary that contains 4 or more locular ovules with short styles. Fruit a large, indehiscent, globose, woody capsule (pixidium), 8-15 cm in diameter, weighing 500-1500 g; pericarp 1 cm thick and barklike. Seeds 15-25, 3-4 cm long, angular, with hard, woody coat and thin, adhering testa; tightly packed within the fruit; they have a white kernel and a nutty texture. The generic name commemorates Claude-Louis Berthollet (1748-1822), a French chemist. The specific epithet alludes to its lofty height. |
| Cordeauxia edulis | Cordeauxia edulis is an evergreen, multistemmed shrub up to 4 m high. A taproot system up to 3 m deep with small secondary rhizomes near the surface and nodules on younger roots. Leaves pinnate; leaflets ovate to oblong-ovate; leathery, with red glands on the lower surface. Flowers yellow. Pods each contain 1-4 round or ovoid seeds, mistakenly called nuts, 2.0-3.5 cm long. The specific name, ‘edulis’, means edible. |
| Erythrina abyssinica | Erythrina abyssinica is medium-sized tree, usually 5-15 m in height, deciduous, thickset, with a well-branched, rounded, spreading crown; trunk short; bark yellow-buff when fresh, otherwise grey-brown to creamy brown, deeply grooved, thickly corky and often spiny; when damaged the tree exudes a brown, gummy sap. Leaves compound, trifoliolate, alternate; leaflets almost as broad as long, 5.5-15 x 6-14 cm, with the terminal leaflet the largest; lateral leaflets rather smaller than this, if 3 lobed then obscurely so, densely woolly when young, losing most of these hairs by maturity; midrib and main veins on the undersurface often bear scattered prickles. Flowers spectacular, in strong, sturdy racemes on the ends of branchlets, orange-red, up to 5 cm long; calyx joined to form a tube, split along the under surface almost to the base and separating away into long, slender, distinctive lobes at the apex; calyx and standard petal striking scarlet to brick red. Fruit a cylindrical, woody pod, 4-16 cm long, deeply constricted between the seeds, densely furry, light brown in colour, opening to set free 1-10 shiny, red seeds with a grey-black patch. This species closely resembles E. latissima. Erythrina comes from the Greek word ‘erythros’-red, alluding to the showy red flowers of the Erythrina species. The specific name means ‘from Ethiopia’. |
| Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus | Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus is a large to very large evergreen tree, 40-55 (max. 60) m tall, with straight, massive trunk 0.6-2 m in diameter; narrow, irregular crown of large branches and drooping aromatic foliage; crown of open-grown trees broadly rounded or irregular with branches nearly to the ground; bark smoothish, mottled grey, brown, and greenish or bluish, peeling in long strips, at base becoming grey, rough and shaggy, thick and finely furrowed; root system deep and spreading. Leaves alternate, drooping on flattened, yellowish leafstalks of 1.5-4 cm, narrowly lance shaped, 10-30 cm long, 2.5-5 cm wide, mostly curved or sickle shaped, long-pointed at tip, short-pointed at base, not toothed on edges, hairless, thick, leathery, with fine, straight veins and vein inside margin, shiny, dark green on both surfaces, aromatic with an odour like that of camphor when crushed. Flowers 1 (rarely 2-3) at leaf base on very short, flattened stalk or none, more than 5 cm across the very numerous, spreading, white stamens about 12-15 mm long, with odour of camphor; buds top-shaped, 12-15 x 12-25 mm; base (hypanthium) 4 angled, very warty, whitish bloom, with 2 lids. Fruits or seed capsules single at leaf base, broadly top-shaped or rounded, 1.5-5 x 2-2.5 cm, 4-angled, warty, with whitish, broad, thick, flat or convex disc and 3-5 slits; seeds many and irregularly elliptical, 2-3 mm long, dull black; many small, sterile seeds. The genus Eucalyptus was described and named in 1788 by the French botanist l’Héritier. The flowers of the various Eucalyptus species are protected by an operculum, hence the generic name, which comes from the Greek words ‘eu’ (well), and ‘calyptos’ (covered). |
| Faidherbia albida | Faidherbia albida is one of the largest thorn trees, reaching 30 m in height, with spreading branches and a rounded crown. Bark rough and dark brown, or smooth and greenish-grey; young branches white to ashy grey and characteristically zigzag in shape. Stipules spinescent, straight, about 2 cm long, creamy coloured with brown tips. Slash fibrous, pink to light brown. The roots can grow to 40 m deep. Leaves with 3-10 pairs of pinnae, each bearing 6-23 pairs of leaflets; leaflets quite large, 3.5-9 x 0.7-3 mm, grey-green. Modified spiny stipules at the base of the leaves, thickened at the base, straight and robust. (The basal thickening is a characteristic distinguishing this species from the acacias with long thorns like A. tortilis ssp. raddiana, A. nilotica and A. seyal). Flowers in slender, creamy white spikes, 4-14 cm long. Calyx 1-1.7 mm long, glabrous to pubescent with 5 sepals. Corolla 3-3.5 mm long with 5 free petals. Fruit is an unusual pod, bright orange to reddish-brown, thick, indehiscent, characteristically and conspicuously curled and twisted; large, up to 25 x 5 cm. Each pod contains 10-29 dark brown, ovoid, shiny seeds each measuring 10 x 6.0 mm and separated by thin septum. The seed coat is tough, leathery and waterproof. The specific epithet ‘albida’ means somewhat whitish, referring to the colour of the stem. The generic name honours Major LLC Faidberbe, governor of Senegal around 1854. |
| Gliricidia sepium | Gliricidia sepium grows to a height of 2-15 m, has a medium crown and may be single or multistemmed. The bark colour is variable but is mainly greyish-brown, and it can be much fissured. The tree has deep roots when mature. Leaves are alternate and pinnate with (min. 7) 13-21 (max. 25) leaflets, papery, oblong with a distinctive pointed tip. Leaflet size increases towards the distal end of the leaf. At maturity, the upper surface ranges from smooth and hairless to bristly and usually has no tanniniferous patches. The lower surface can also be smooth and hairless or bristly but commonly has purplish tanniniferous patches concentrated toward the centre of the lamina. Flowers arranged on conspicuously short, upward-curving to erect inflorescences, which are usually pink, fading to whitish-brown or pale purple with age. Pods explosively dehiscent, strongly laterally compressed and pale green or reddish-pink when unripe, turning pale yellow-brown when fully ripe. Seeds transversely oriented, lenticular, not constricted in the middle. Seeds uniformly light brown, turning dark brown with age; 3-10 seeds in a single pod. The generic name Gliricidia refers to “mouse killer” in Latin, and the species epithet is named from the Latin saepes meaning hedge. |
| Leucaena leucocephala | Leucaena leucocephala is a small, variably shrubby and highly branched (ssp. leucocephala) to medium-sized tree with a short, clear bole to 5 m, upright angular branching and a narrow open crown (ssp. glabrata), 3-15 (max. 20) m tall, bole diameter 10-50 cm. Bark on young branches smooth, grey-brown, slash salmon pink, darker grey-brown and rougher with shallow, rusty orange-brown vertical fissures and deep red inner bark on older branches and bole. This evergreen plant is deep rooted. It often has a combination of flowers, immature and mature pods all present on the tree at the same time. Leaves with (min. 4) 6-9 pairs pinnae; pinnular rachis 5-10.2 cm long, leaflets 9-16 (max. 21) mm long, 2-4.5 mm wide, 13-21 pairs per pinna, slightly asymmetric, linear-oblong to weakly elliptic, acute at tip, rounded to obtuse at base, glabrous except on margins. Leaves and leaflets fold up with heat, cold or lack of water. Flower heads 12-21 mm in diameter, 100-180 flowers per head, in groups of 2-6 in leaf axils, arising on actively growing young shoots, flowers white or pale cream-white. Pods (min. 9) 11-19 cm long, (min. 13) 15-21 mm wide, (min. 3) 5-20 (max. 45) per flower head, linear-oblong, acute or rounded at apex, flat, 8-18 seeded, mid- to orange-brown, glabrous and slightly lustrous or densely covered in white velvety hairs, papery, opening along both margins. Seeds hard, dark brown with a hard, shining testa, 6.7-9.6 mm long, 4-6.3 mm wide, aligned transversely in pod. The specific name ‘leucocephala’ comes from ‘leu’, meaning white, and ‘cephala’, meaning head, referring to the flowers. There are 3 recognized subspecies: ssp. leucocephala, ssp. glabrata (Rose) S. Zárate, and ssp. ixtahuacana C. E. Hughes. |
| Morinda citrifolia | Morinda citrifolia is an evergreen shrub or small crooked tree with a conical crown, 3-8(-10) m tall, with a deep taproot; bark greyish or yellowish-brown, shallowly fissured, glabrous; branchlets quandrangular. Leaves opposite and simple, elliptic-lanceolate, (10-)15-50 cm x 5-17 cm, entire, acute to shortly acuminate at apex, cuneate at base, pinnately nerved, glabrous; petioles 0.5-2.5 cm long; stipules variable in size and shape, broadly triangular. Inflorescences globose heads, 1-4 cm long peeduncled, in axils of stipules opposite normally developed leaves; flowers bisexual, fragrant; corolla funnel-shaped, up to 1.5 cm long, white; stamens inserted on the mouth of the corolla; stigma bilobed. Fruit an ovoid syncarp of red-brown, pyramidal, 2-seeded drupes, 3-10 cm x 2-3 cm, yellow-white. M. citrifolia is sometimes subdivided into two varieties: var. citrifolia and var. bracteata (Roxb.) Hook.f. The latter has calyx-limbs with 12 leaflike, linear-lanceolate lobes ca. 1-1.5 cm long; the stem is straighter and the leaves are smaller than var. citrifolia. |
| Moringa oleifera | Moringa oleifera is a small, graceful, deciduous tree with sparse foliage, often resembling a leguminous species at a distance, especially when in flower, but immediately recognized when in fruit. The tree grows to 8 m high and 60 cm dbh. Bole crooked, often forked from near the base. Bark smooth, dark grey; slash thin, yellowish. Twigs and shoots shortly but densely hairy. Crown wide, open, typically umbrella shaped and usually a single stem; often deep rooted. The wood is soft. Leaves alternate, the old ones soon falling off; each leaf large (up to about 90 cm long), with opposite pinnae, spaced about 5 cm apart up the central stalk, usually with a 2nd lot of pinnae, also opposite, bearing leaflets in opposite pairs, with a slightly larger terminal leaflet. Leaflets dark green above and pale on the under surface; variable in size and shape, but often rounded-elliptic, seldom as much as 2.5 cm long. Flowers produced throughout the year, in loose axillary panicles up to 15 cm long; individual flower stalks up to 12 mm long and very slender; 5 pale green sepals 12 mm long, finely hairy, 5 white petals, unequal, a little longer than the sepals; 5 stamens with anthers, 5 without; style slender, flowers very sweet smelling. Fruit large and distinctive, up to 90 cm long and 12 mm broad, slightly constricted at intervals, gradually tapering to a point, 3- (4-) angled, with 2 grooves on each face, light brown. It splits along each angle to expose the rows of rounded blackish oily seeds, each with 3 papery wings. The generic name comes from the Sinhalese name ‘morunga’. |
| Peltophorum pterocarpum | Peltophorum pterocarpum is a deciduous tree usually reaching a height of 15 (-24) m, although it may attain 50 m and a diameter of 50 (-100) cm. Bark smooth, grey; crown dense, spreading. Leaves large, 30-60 cm long, with 8-10 pairs of pinnae each bearing 10-20 pairs of oblong leaflets 0.8-2.5 cm long with oblique bases. Flowers orange-yellow, each about 2.5 cm in diameter, fragrant, particularly at night; inflorescence brown-tomentose, panicles terminal with rust-coloured buds. Fruits 1-4 seeded pods, flat, thin, winged, 5-10 cm long, dark red when ripe, then turning black. P. pterocarpum has a deep root system. The specific epithet 'pterocarpum' alludes to its winged seed. |
| Piliostigma thonningii | Piliostigma thonningii is a tree 4-15 m in height with a rounded crown and a short but often crooked bole. Twigs rusty-hairy. The bark is rough and longitudinally fissured, being creamy-brown when fresh and grey-brown later. Leathery green leaves up to 15 x 17 cm, bi-lobed one eighth to one third the way down with a small bristle in the notch, glossy above and heavily veined and somewhat rusty-hairy below. Flowers with 5 white to pink petals, pendulous, unisexual with male and female usually on separate trees; ovary topped by a thick flattened-globose stigma. Pods indehiscent, up to 26 x 7 cm, with rusty-brown hairs, which wear off as the pods mature, becoming somewhat contorted as they age. The pods persist on the tree but finally fall and decay on the ground to pea-sized seeds. An edible pulp surrounds these seeds. This species roots deeply. The generic epithet Piliostigma, means cap-like stigma. The specific epithet commemorates Peter Thonning, the Danish plant collector who collected the type in that portion of Danish Guinea that is now part of Ghana. Piliostigma was distinguished from Bauhinia by its unisexual flowers and indehiscent pods. |
| Pistacia integerrima | Pistacia integerrima is a multi-branched, single stemmed, deciduous tree, up to 25 m tall. The tree has low/dense crown base and roots deeply. Leaves large, up to 25 cm long, pinnate (frequently paripinnate) leaves bearing 2-6 pairs of lanceolate, long leaflets. The terminal leaflet is much smaller than the lateral ones or even reduced to a mucro. Inflorescence red. The fruits are globular, apiculate, 5-6 mm in diameter, purplish or blue at maturity and with a bony endocarp. The name of Pistacia derives from the Persian name ‘pisteh’ or ‘pesteh’. Classification within the genus Pistacia has been based on leaf morphology and geographical distribution. |
| Prosopis glandulosa | Prosopis glandulosa is a tall shrub or tree of 3-9 m; deciduous foliage; spines axillary, uninodal, 1-4.5 cm long, mostly solitary, sometimes very few, germinate alternately on different nodes of the same twig. It is a plant with a very deep root system (up to 18.3 m). Leaves glabrous, uni- or bijugate; petiole (with rachis when extant) 2-15 cm long; pinnae 6-17 cm long; leaflets 6-17 pairs, about 7-18 mm distant on the rachis, linear or oblong, obtuse, glabrous, subcoriaceous, prominently veined underside; costa frequently of lighter colour, (min. 1.5) 2-6.3 cm long x 1.5-4.5 mm broad, 5-15 times as long as broad. Racemes spiciform, about 5-14 cm long, multiflorous; petals 2.5-3.5 mm long; ovary stipilate, villous. Legume straight, 8-30 cm x 5-13 mm, rarely subfalcate, compressed to subterete, submoniliform, glabrous, straw-yellow or tinged with violet, short-stiped, with strong, short, or elongate acumen, 5-18 seeded; joints subquadrate to oval; seeds oblique to longitudinal. There are 2 recognized varieties -: P. glandulosa var. torreyana (Benson) Johnston grows primarily in the deserts and drylands of southwestern USA and northern Mexico; P. glandulosa var. glandulosa is found from Mexico north to Kansas and east to Louisiana. In North America the common name ‘mesquite’ (meaning charcoal tree) is used for several Prosopis species, whereas in South America the name ‘algarrobo’ is used commonly. Algarobbo is actually the Old World name for carob (Ceratonia siliqua); the conquistadores applied it to Prosopis species because of its carob-like appearance. |
| Shorea robusta | Shorea robusta is a large, deciduous tree up to 50 m tall and with a dbh of 5 m; these are exceptional sizes, and under normal conditions S. robusta trees attain a height of about 18-32 m and girths of 1.5-2 m; bole is clean, straight and cylindrical, but often bearing epicormic branches; crown is spreading and spherical. Bark dark brown and thick, with longitudinal fissures deep in poles, becoming shallow in mature trees; provides effective protection against fire. The tree develops a long taproot at a very young age. Leaves simple, shiny, glabrous, about 10-25 cm long and broadly oval at the base, with the apex tapering into a long point; new leaves reddish, soon becoming delicate green. Flowers yellowish-white, arranged in large terminal or axillary racemose panicles. Fruit at full size about 1.3-1.5 cm long and 1 cm in diameter; it is surrounded by segments of the calyx enlarged into 5 rather unequal wings about 5-7.5 cm long. |
| Tamarix aphylla | Tamarix aphylla is a fast growing, moderate sized evergreen tree, up to 18 m high with erect tapering trunk, 60-80 cm dbh with many stout spreading purplish brown and smooth branches. Twigs drooping, wiry or needle-like, up to 1.5 mm diameter, jointed, older twigs greenish-brown, hairless, mostly shedding. Bark light grey-brown or reddish-brown, rough, becoming thick and deeply furrowed into long narrow hard ridges. A deep and extensive root system, about 10 m vertically and 34 m horizontally. Leaves bluish-green, alternate, reduced to tiny scales ensheathing wiry twigs and ending in points, hairless, often with epidermal salt glands each forming a joint along the twig. Flowers many, nearly stalkless, tiny, whitish-pink, in racemes 3-6 mm long, 4-5 mm broad at end of twigs, drooping. Fruit a small capsule, many, narrow, pointed, 5 mm long, splitting into 3 parts. Seeds many, 0.5 mm long, brown, each with tuft of whitish hairs 3 mm long. The specific name means without leaves. |
| Zizyphus spina-christi | Ziziphus spina-christi is a shrub, sometimes a tall tree, reaching a height of 20 m and a diameter of 60 cm; bark light-grey, very cracked, scaly; trunk twisted; very branched, crown thick; shoots whitish, flexible, drooping; thorns in pairs, one straight, the other curved. Leaves glabrous on upper surface, finely pubescent below, ovate-lanceolate or ellipsoid, apex acute or obtuse, margins almost entire, lateral veins conspicuous. Flowers in cymes, subsessile, peduncle 1-3 mm. Fruit about 1 cm in diameter. There are 2 varieties: var. spina-christi is a tree with white branches, leaves larger, ovate-lanceolate with an acute or obtuse apex, 2.5-8.5 cm long and 1-3.5 cm wide, margins slightly crenate, 3 strong veins from the base, lateral veins inconspicuous; flowers many per cyme, peduncle up to 1.5 cm; fruit 2 cm in diameter; var. microphylla Hochst ex A. Rich. is a very bushy shrub, leaves are widely ellipsoid or ovate-ellipsoid, rounded at the tip, 1-3 cm long and just as wide, margins almost entire, basal veins not reaching the apex, 1-2 strong lateral veins on each side of the central vein; branches brown-reddish; fruits up to 1 cm in diameter. The name ‘Ziziphus’ is often erroneously written as Zizyphus. The generic name is derived from the latinized version of the Arabic vernacular name ‘zizouf’ for Z. jujuba. The specific name is derived from its common name Christ thorn. |
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