World Agroforestry Centre | agroforestree database 4.0

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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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Acacia aneura	Acacia aneura is a perennial, evergreen, often single-stemmed tree, 10-15 m tall in high rainfall areas. Trunk brown, short, fissured and sometimes twisted. Bark at base of trunk fissured, greyish, 1 cm thick; upper parts thinner, smoother and often light grey. Branches ascending; branchlets angular, covered with dense, silvery hairs; young shoots brown, scaly and occasionally resinous. Tree develops a long taproot and an extensive lateral root system in the top 30-cm of the soil. Phyllodes flat, silvery grey-green, thick, leathery, narrow, lanceolate-shaped, 2-25 cm long, 1-10 mm wide, with many faint parallel nerves obscured by a dense covering of short hairs; margins usually lighter, tips blunt, curved or oblique with a small basal gland. Flowers bright yellow, slender, short, dense, 1-3 cm long , 5-7 mm wide, and borne on dense, axillary, cylindrical spikes; stalks 3-8 mm long. Pods light brown, 2-5 cm long, 7-15 mm wide, very obtuse, oblong, flat, membranous, thin, usually with a narrow but prominent membranous winged margin as wide as 2 mm. Seeds oval, flat, 3-5 x 2-4 mm, a shiny dark brown, oblique or transverse in the pod, with a hard testa; veins netlike; base narrow; tip very blunt; stalk thin and short, with 2 or 3 folds thickening into a small basal aril. The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning point or barb. The species name was first published in Linnaea 26:627 (1855) and comes from the Greek word 'a' (not) and 'neuron' (a nerve), in allusion to the absence of conspicuous veins on the phyllodes. The standard trade name (Mulga) is an Aboriginal word for a long narrow shield made from Acacia wood.
Acacia auriculiformis	Acacia auriculiformis is an evergreen tree that grows between to 15-30 m tall, with a trunk up to 12 m long and 50 cm in diameter. It has dense foliage with an open, spreading crown. The trunk is crooked and the bark vertically fissured. Roots are shallow and spreading. Leaves 10-16 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide with 3-8 parallel nerves, thick, leathery and curved. Flowers are 8 cm long and in pairs, creamy yellow and sweet scented. Pods are about 6.5 x 1.5 cm, flat, cartilaginous, glaucous, transversely veined with undulate margins. They are initially straight but on maturity become twisted with irregular spirals. Seeds are transversely held in the pod, broadly ovate to elliptical, about 4-6 x 3-4 mm. The generic name acacia comes from the Greek word ‘akis’ meaning a point or a barb and the specific epithet comes from the Latin ‘auricula’- external ear of animals and ‘forma- form, figure or shape, in allusion to the shape of the pod.
Acacia glauca	Acacia glauca is an erect, unarmed shrub or small tree, 1-3(-5) m tall; crown open, branches many, terete, sparsely pubescent to glabrous, younger twigs more strigose; bark dark red. Leaves bipinnately or sometimes tripinnately compound, pinnae in 2-10 pairs, 4-9 cm long, rachis 8-12 cm long, glandless; leaflets 10-30 pairs per pinna, opposite, oblong-lanceolate, 4-10 mm x 1-2 mm, unequal sided, base rounded, top blunt with acute tip, hairy to glabrescent; stipules lanceolate, early caducous. Inflorescence a short, sometimes subcapitate, 20-40-flowered spike, 2-6 together in upper axils, the uppermost arranged in racemes; peduncle up to 2.5 cm long, pedicel 1-2 mm, articulated; flowers 5-merous, bisexual, white turning yellowish; calyx campanulate, 0.5-1 mm long, 5-lobed; corolla tubular, 5-lobed, 2-4 mm long; stamens numerous, ovary stipitate with 5 mm long style. Fruit a flat, membranous pod, oblong to strap-shaped, 1.5-10 cm x 0.5-2 cm, stalk about 1 cm long, apiculate, glossy brown, 1-8 seeded, valves swollen where seeds develop, transversely veined along the margins. Seeds ovoid to lenticular, brown. The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning point or barb.
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.
Acacia mearnsii	Acacia mearnsii is a small to large, evergreen, single-stemmed or multi-branched tree, 6-25 m high, with a straight trunk, growing to 50 cm in diameter; crown low, spreading, rounded; spines absent; bark brownish-black, hard and fissured; twigs angled, grey, densely hairy, tinged with yellow when young. Trees in their natural habitat have a spreading, rounded crown, but are erect and slender when crowded in plantations. Leaves dark green, alternate, feathery, with very soft hair, binnately compound, 8-15 cm long, with 8-21 pairs of pinnae 2-5 cm long, a round gland at base of each pair on upper surface; leaflets very numerous; 20-70 pairs of pinnae on each axis; small, crowded, narrowly oblong, 3 mm long, blunt, with dense soft hairs, yellowish when young becoming dark green, 1.5-4 x 0.5-0.75 mm; petiole 1.5-2.5 cm long, often with a gland above; rachis usually 4-12 cm long, with numerous raised glands all along its upper side both at and between insertions of pinnae pairs. The tree exhibits a superficial root system. Flower clusters (racemes) along axis at leaf base or terminal, composed of many (20-30) stalked, pale yellow balls (heads) 7-8 mm in diameter; flowers many, tiny, very sweet scented, composed of narrow 5-lobed calyx; corolla of 5 petals; stamens many, threadlike, pale yellow; pistil with long, slender style 2-6 mm long. Pods (legumes) narrowly oblong, flat, rough, blackish, with fine hair, fairly straight, 5-15 cm long by 4-9 mm wide but often constricted between the seeds, almost moniliform (in Australia pods less moniliform and almost glabrous are found), dehiscing along 1 margin; seeds about 1-14, longitudinal in the pod, beanlike, elliptical, flattened, blackish, 4 mm long; caruncle conspicuous; areole 3.5 x 2 mm. The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning a point or a barb. The specific name is after A.R Mearns (1856-1916), an American army surgeon who collected the type specimen form a cultivated tree near Thika in Kenya. The name was first published in Pl. Bequaert in 1925.
Acacia mellifera	Acacia mellifera is a low, branched tree with a more or less spherical crown. Black bark on stem becomes ash-grey to light brown on the branches, bearing small, short, sharply hooked spines in pairs. It has a shallow but extensive root system radiating from the crown, allowing the plant to exploit soil moisture and nutrients from a large volume of soil. The roots rarely penetrate more than 1 m. Leaves characterized by 2 pairs of pinnulae, each with a single pair of leaflets. Leaflets elliptic 0.6-2 cm long and 0.6-1.2 cm wide, glabrous and highly coloured beneath. Flowers sweetly scented, especially at night, in elongated spikes, cream to white in spiciform racemes, up to 3.5 cm long; pedicels 0.5-1.5 mm long; calyx up to 1 mm long; corolla 2.5-3.5 mm long. The papery pods with 2-3-seeds are reticulate, flat, elongated, 2.5-5.5 cm long, 6 cm wide, hemmed, sometimes more or less narrowed between the seeds. The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning point or barb. The specific name means ‘honey-bearing’.
Acacia tortilis	Acacia tortilis is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree or shrub that grows up to 21 m tall; well-developed multiple boles support a flat-topped or rounded, spreading crown; bark grey to black or dark brown, rough, fissured or smooth; young branchlets densely pubescent or glabrous to subglabrous and red to brown; spines paired, 2 types-long, straight and white, or short, brownish and hooked; they range from 1.2 to 8 cm in length. Leaves glabrous to densely pubescent, glandular, short at 1.25-3.75 cm long; petiole 0.2-0.9 cm long, with a gland; rachis 0.3-2 cm long, glabrous to densely pubescent, with a small gland at the junction of the apical pair of pinnae; pinnae 2-10 pairs; leaflets 4-22 pairs per pinnae, 0.5-4 (6 max.) x 0.2-1 mm, glabrous to densely pubescent on the underside; margins with or without cilia, linear to linear oblong. Inflorescence globose heads; peduncle white, pubescent, 0.4-2.5 cm long, with involucel on the lower half; flowers white or pale yellowish-white, sessile or shortly pedicellate, scented, 0.5-1.1 cm in diameter, on axillary peduncles; calyx 1-2 mm long; corolla 1.5-2.5 mm long. Pods variable, indehiscent, spirally twisted or rarely almost straight, 7-10 cm long, 6-10 (max. 13) mm broad, longitudinally veined, leathery, glabrous to tomentellous or villous, somewhat constricted between the seeds; seeds oblique or parallel to long axis of pod, 4-7 x 3-6 mm, compressed; areole 3-6 x 2-4 mm. The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning a point or a barb. The name ‘tortilis’ means twisted and refers to the pod structure.
Barringtonia racemosa	Barringtonia racemosa is usually a small tree, 4-8 m in height but occasionally reaching 15 m; bark grey, yellow or brown, mottled, rather smooth to fissured; no aboveground roots but may have spreading surface roots. Leaves alternate, simple, crowded at the ends of the branches, large, obovate-oblong to oblanceolate, 8-35 x 4-13 cm; apex deep green, broadly tapering; base narrowly tapering, running into the petiole; margin entire or very shallowly toothed or scalloped; petiole very short, without hairs. Flowers attractive, white to pale pink, in many-flowered pendulous sprays; up to 60 cm in length or even more; bisexual; all floral parts in 4s; sepals joined at the base, separating in 3-4 lobes, green flushed with pink, about 10 x 7.5 mm; petal elliptic, up to 3 x 1 cm, attached to the staminal tube; stamens many, long, white or pinkish, forming a large central mass 3.5 cm in diameter; ovary 2 to 4 chambered; style red. Fruit conical to ovate, about 3 x 2 cm, crowned by the remains of the persistent calyx; style fleshy at first, later becoming hard, fibrous and yellowish-brown when mature. Seeds aromatic. The genus is named after the Hon. Daines Barrington, 1727-1800, an English nobleman, lawyer, antiquary and naturalist who wrote a book on English trees. The specific name ‘racemosa’ means ‘having racemes’; a raceme being a string-like arrangement of stalked flowers.
Calliandra calothyrsus	Calliandra calothyrsus is a small, thornless, often multistemmed shrub. Under optimum conditions it can attain a height of 12 m and a trunk diameter of 30 cm, but its average height is 5-6 m and diameter 20 cm. Bark colour varies from white to dark red-brown and is normally glabrous but occasionally can be finely pubescent. It has both superficial and deep-growing roots. Sometimes a taproot is formed. Leaves alternate, petiolate, bipinnately compound, 10-19 cm long and without an upper waxy sheen. Pinnae vary in number from 6 to 20 pairs and possess 19-60 pairs of linear, acute or obtuse leaflets. Flowers in a subterminal inflorescence with numerous long, hairlike stamens. Flowers and sepals green, staminal filaments purple or red. Fruits broadly linear and flattened with a pod 8-13 cm long which breaks open, each half curling back to set free 3-15 shiny, black seeds. Pods 11-16 mm wide, long, attenuate to the base and sharply acute at the apex. The generic epithet Calliandra is derived from 'calli' meaning beautiful and 'andra' for the male floral parts describes the beautiful and prominent anthers characteristic of this leguminous plant. The specific epithet describes the equally beautiful inflorescence of the species.
Carapa guianensis	Carapa guianensis is a deciduous or semi-evergreen, monoecious, medium-sized to large trees up to 35 (max. 55) m tall; bole straight and cylindrical; branchless up to 20 (max. 30) m; up to 100 (max. 200) cm in diameter, sometimes fluted, with short buttresses up to 2 m high. Bark surface flaking into squarish scales or in horizontal strips, light grey to greyish brown or dark brown, sometimes reddish; inner bark fibrous, red or pinkish brown. Young plants produce taproots but the trees tend to become surface rooted. Leaves alternate, paripinnate with a dormant glandular leaflet at the apex, exstipulate; leaflets opposite, entire. Shows gigantic leaves in the monocaulous juvenile stage, decreasing in size when branching is initiated. Flowers small, white, borne in a large, axillary or subterminal thyrse; unisexual but with well-developed vestiges of the opposite sex; tetramerous to pentamerous (max. sextamerous); calyx lobed almost to the base; petals slightly contorted. Fruit dehiscent, 4-lobed, pendulous, subglobose, woody capsule containing 2-4 seeds in each lobe. Seeds smooth, pale brown, angular, with woody sarcotesta.
Citrus sinensis	Citrus sinensis is a small, shallow-rooted evergreen shrub or tree about 6-13 m high with an enclosed conical top and mostly spiny branches. Twigs angled when young, often with thick spines Leaves smooth, oval, 5-15 x 2-8 cm, dark green above, glossy, with a distinctive smell often similar to the fruit, petiole winged Flowers small, waxy greenish-white, fragrant; calyx broad saucer-shaped, petals 5, white elliptic, 1.3-2.2 cm long Fruits orange, reddish-green to yellowish-green, round, 4-12 cm, consist of a leathery peel 6 mm thick, tightly adherent, protecting the juicy inner pulp, which is divided into segments that may not contain seeds, depending on the cultivar The specific epithet (sinensis) refers to its Chinese origin
Commiphora africana	Commiphora africana is a small tree, sometimes reaching 10 m but usually not more than 5 m high. It can be recognized unmistakably from a distance by its outline--a spherical top and a short trunk with low branches. Crown is rounded, with the branches ascending and then curving downwards. Many of the branchlets end in spines. The bark is grey-green, sometimes shiny, peeling in membranous scales; slash red, pleasantly scented, exuding a clear gum. Has a creeping root system that spreads several metres around the tree. Leaves trifoliate, leaflets cuneate at the base and with irregular and bluntly toothed margins, waxy grey-green above with a sparse covering of hairs, lighter in colour and more densely hairy below, up to 4 x 2.5 cm, the middle leaflet larger than laterals. Flowers in axillary clusters of 4-10; petals 4, red, not fused, but forming a tube about 6 mm long. Fruits reddish, 6-8 mm across but sometimes larger, almost stalkless, made up of a tough outer layer, which splits when ripe to reveal a hard, furrowed stone embedded in a red, resinous flesh. The generic name ‘Commiphora’ is based on the Greek words ‘kommi’ (gum) and ‘phero’ (to bear). The specific name simply means African.
Crotalaria juncea	Crotalaria juncea is an erect, herbaceous, laxly branched annual, 1-3.5 m tall. The stems are cylindrical and ribbed, pubescent, up to 2 cm in diameter; vegetative parts covered with short, downy hairs. Long, strong taproot, well-developed lateral roots, and multibranched and lobed nodules, up to 2.5 cm in length. Leaves simple with minute, pointed stipules; petiole entire, short, about 5 mm long with pulvinus blade, linear elliptic to oblong, 4-12 x 0.5-3, bright green. Inflorescence a lax, terminal raceme, up to 25 cm long; flowers conspicuous, small with 5 hairy sepals, shortly united at base, lobes pointed, with 3 lower sepals united at tips, separating in fruit; petals deep yellow, standard erect, about 2.5 cm in diameter, rounded, sometimes streaked purple on dorsal surface, wings shorter and keel twisted. Pods cylindrical, 3-6 x 1-2 cm, tomentose, light brown, containing about 6 seeds. Seed heart-shaped, with narrow end strongly incurved, up to 6 mm long, dark brown to black. The genus name ‘Crotalaria’, meaning rattle, is indicative of the noise made by the seeds shaken in the mature pods. The species name was given by Linnaeus because the plant’s green, rushlike, scantily leaved branches resemble Spartium junceaum L., the Spanish broom of the Mediterranean region.
Dalbergia sissoo	Dalbergia sissoo is a medium to large-sized deciduous tree, growing up to 30 m in height and 80 cm dbh under favourable conditions. Crown wide spreading and thin. Bark thin, grey, longitudinally furrowed, exfoliating in narrow strips. Develops a long taproot from an early age, and numerous lateral ramifying roots. The leaves are imparipinate; leaflets 3-5, alternate, 2.5-3.6 cm in diameter, broad ovate, acuminate, glabrescent, petiolules 3-5 mm long. Flowers 5-8 mm long, pale white to dull yellow, racemes 2.5-3.7 cm long in short axillary panicles. Pods 5-7.5 cm x 8-13 mm, narrowed at the base, indehiscent, glabrous, with 1-4 seeds. Seeds 6-8 x 4-5 mm, kidney shaped, thin and flat, light brown. The generic name Dalbergia honours the Swedish brothers Nils and Carl Dalberg, who lived in the 18th century. The former was a botanist and the latter explored Surinam.
Delonix regia	Delonix regia is a tree 10-15 (max. 18) m high, attaining a girth of up to 2 m; trunk large, buttressed and angled towards the base; bark smooth, greyish-brown, sometimes slightly cracked and with many dots (lenticels); inner bark light brown; crown umbrella shaped, spreading with the long, nearly horizontal branches forming a diameter that is wider than the tree’s height; twigs stout, greenish, finely hairy when young, becoming brown. Roots shallow. Leaves biparipinnate, alternate, light green, feathery, 20-60 cm long; 10-25 pairs of pinnae, 5-12 cm long, each bearing 12-40 pairs of small oblong-obtuse leaflets that are about 0.5-2 cm long and 0.3 cm wide; petiole stout. The numerous leaflets are stalkless, rounded at the base and apex, entire thin, very minutely hairy on both sides, green on the upper surface. At the base of the leaf stalk, there are 2 compressed stipules that have long, narrow, comblike teeth. Corymbs 15-30 cm long, borne laterally near the end of the twig, each with loosely arranged, slightly fragrant flowers; flowers 5-13 cm across, with 5 equal petals, on slender stalks 5-7.6 cm long. Petals 5-6.5 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, orbicular, broadly spoon shaped, rounded but broader than long, slightly wavy-margined or crisp, tapering into claws about 2.5 cm long, widely extended and bending backwards before falling. Petals 4, orange-red, almost scarlet, 1 longer and narrower than the others, whitish inside with red spots and streaks; stalk very long, slender and hairy. Sepals 5, thick, green outside and reddish with yellow border within, reflexed when the flowers open, pointed, finely hairy, about 2.5 cm long. Stamens 5 with 10 red filaments; pistil has a hairy 1-celled ovary about 1.3 cm long and slender style about 3 cm long. Fruit green and flaccid when young, turning to dark brown, hard, woody pods, 30-75 cm long, 3.8 cm thick, 5-7.6 cm broad, ending in a short beak when mature, with many horizontally partitioned seed chambers inside, indehiscent, finally splitting into 2 parts. The conspicuous pods hang down and remain attached most of the year even when the trees are leafless. Seeds 30-45, hard, greyish, glossy, to 2 cm long, oblong and shaped very much like date seeds, transversely mottled with a bony testa. They are arranged at right angles to the length of the pod. The generic name, ‘Delonix’, is derived from a Greek delos (visible), and onyx (claw), in allusion to the conspicuously clawed petals. The specific name, ‘regia’, is from the Latin word ‘regis’ (royal, regal, magnificent). Most of its common names are derived from its large, flame-red flowers.
Enterolobium cyclocarpum	Enterolobium cyclocarpum is one of the largest trees in the dry forest formation, reaching up to 40 m in height and 3 m in diameter, with a huge, spreading crown. Older E. cyclocarpum trees develop small buttresses and produce large roots that run along the surface of the ground for 2-3 m. Sidewalks, roads, or foundations may be cracked or raised by E. cyclocarpum trees growing close by. The bipinnate compound leaves of E. cyclocarpum have 5 opposite leaflets. The small white flowers occur in compact, round heads. Seeds contained in distinctive, thickened, contorted, indehiscent pods that resemble an ear in form; seed 20 x 15 mm, ovate, compressed, dull, reddish-brown, with 100% pleurogram, marked with a yellowish band on each face, punctiform apical hilium concealed or not by whitish funicle; adult trees produce about 2000 pods, each with 10-16 seeds.
Ficus subcordata	Strangling deciduous tree, without aerial roots, up to 30 m tall and 70 cm in diameter; branching starts 2 m above the ground and twigs are brownish-grey; in shallow soil the lateral roots near the soil surface can spread 4-7 m away from the base of the trunk. Bark whitish-grey, slightly smooth and fissured, flexible and durable, 10-17 mm thick; inner bark whitish, exuding white sap. The blunted spearhead-like bud extends from the node while the leaf is still intact. Leaves alternate, oblong, ovate-oblong, or elliptical, 9-20 cm x 4-10 cm, with a prominent light green midrib and a light green petiole of 2-5 cm length; leaf margin entire; leaf-blade broadly cuneate or rounded at base, pointed at apex, smooth to hairy, purple when young, light green beneath and dark green above when mature. Fruit a short-ellipsoid fig, 3-5 cm x 2-2.5 cm, solitary, occasionally in pairs, green when young, gradually turning from yellow to reddish-brown or black when ripe. Seeds small, hard and numerous. F. subcordata is subdivided into two varieties by Corner: var. subcordata, the typical variety; and var. malayana Corner, with large subcylindrical figs 3.5-5 cm x 2-2.5 cm, and elliptical to narrowly obovate, thick leaves, 11-16 cm x 4-7 cm, occuring in Peninsular Malaysia and in northern Borneo.
Populus deltoides	Populus deltoides is a medium-sized to large tree, 20-30 (max. 50) m tall, 100 cm dbh; bark greyish-green and smooth at first, later blackish and furrowed; trunk short and massive in the open, often divided into a few large, wide-spreading limbs near the ground to form a broad, irregular-shaped, open crown. In the forest, the trunk is long, straight, with a small, rounded crown; root system usually shallow, wide spreading, may be deep in deep soils. It is one of the fastest growing trees, often planted where fast growth is the main requirement. Leaves broadly deltoid, 8-15 cm long and nearly as broad, glabrous on both sides, short-acuminate, dentate, with incurved glandular or callous-tipped teeth; bases truncate to subcordate, with 2-3 basal glands; petiole strongly flattened laterally. Bracts of catkins fringed or fimbriate, the divisions narrow; staminate aments 7.5-12.5 cm long, thick; stamens about 60 or more; anthers red; pistillate aments green and slender; ovaries glabrous; stigmas 3 or 4. Mature seed catkins 15-25 cm long; stalk hairless; capsules ovoid, 6-10 mm long, glabrous, green, splitting into 3-4 parts when mature; peduncle 3-10 mm long; seeds cottony. The generic name is the classical Latin name for poplars, possibly from ‘paipallo’ (vibrate or shake) or originating in ancient times when the poplar was called ‘arbor populi’ (the tree of the people), because in Rome it was used to decorate public places. The specific name means ‘triangular’, referring to the shape of the leaves, from the Greek letter delta and ‘oides’ (resembling).
Populus euphratica	Populus euphratica is a medium-size to large deciduous tree with rarely a straight stem; often bushy, but attaining a height of about 15 m and a girth of 2.5 m under favourable conditions. Bark on old stems is thick and rough, olive green, with irregular vertical figures; stem is often bent and nearly always forked; sapwood is white and broad; heartwood is reddish, often almost black at the centre. It is shallow rooted, the roots spreading widely. Leaves are highly polymorphic; juvenile leaves 7-15 cm x 6-12 cm, narrowly oblong, usually entire; petiole 7-15 cm long; leaves on mature shoots 5-7.5 cm long, very variable, usually broader than long, rhombic or ovate, sharply lanceolate in the upper half, base 3-5 nerved; petiole 1-5 cm long, rather slender, usually with large glands at the top on either side. Catkins lax, male 2.5-5 cm long, female 5-7 cm long. Fruit ovoid-lanceolate capsule, 7-12 mm long; pedicel 4-5 mm. Seed minute, enveloped in silky hairs. The generic name is the classical Latin name for poplars, possibly from ‘paipallo’ (vibrate or shake), or originating in ancient times when the poplar was called ‘arbor populi’ (the tree of the people), because in Rome it was used to decorate public places.
Prosopis chilensis	Prosopis chilensis is a small to medium sized tree up to 12 m in height and 1 m in diameter; bark brown, fissured; spines a pair, stout, yellow, glabrous; root system reportedly shallow and spreading. The leaves are compound, each with numerous leaflets along several pairs of pinnae. P. chilensis has 10-29 leaflets per pinnae and no more than two pairs of pinnae per leaf. The leaflets are about 1 cm apart. The flowers are greenish-white to yellow, abundant and occur in spike-like racemes. The pods are beige to off-white, about 15 cm long and 15 mm wide. The pods have a tendency to be rolled up along the axis. Seeds many, bean-shaped, oblong, 6-7 mm long, flattened, brown, each in 4-angled case.
Prosopis tamarugo	Prosopis tamarugo is a deciduous open-crowned tree up to 18 m tall, the trunk to 80 cm in diameter; with a dense mat of lateral roots and deep taproot (to 6 m deep on tree 15 m tall). Crown globe-like and irregular in shape; fissured bark, dark grey. Leaves unijugate, the pinnae 3-4 cm long or less, with 10-15 pairs of leaflets; leaflets linear obtuse or acutish, 4-8 mm long. Flowers golden yellow, in long axillary cylindrical spikes. Stipules spiny, 5-38 mm long. Brown calyx 1.5 mm long; corolla 4-5 mm long; ovary villous. Pod arcuate, turgid, brown or stramineous, 2-8 cm long, 2-3.5 cm in diameter with ca 6-8 seeds embedded in a brownish edible pulp, seeds ovate, 3-4.3 mm long.
Psidium guajava	Psidium guajava is a large dicotyledonous shrub, or small evergreen tree, generally 3-10 m high, many branches; stems crooked, bark light to reddish brown, thin, smooth, continuously flaking; root system generally superficial and very extensive, frequently extending well beyond the canopy, there are some deep roots but no distinct taproot. Leaves opposite, simple; stipules absent, petiole short, 3-10 mm long; blade oblong to elliptic, 5-15 x 4-6 cm, apex obtuse to bluntly acuminate, base rounded to subcuneate, margins entire, somewhat thick and leathery, dull grey to yellow-green above, slightly downy below, veins prominent, gland dotted. Inflorescence, axillary, 1- to 3-flowered, pedicles about 2 cm long, bracts 2, linear. Calyx splitting irregularly into 2-4 lobes, whitish and sparsely hairy within; petals 4-5, white, linear-ovate c. 2 cm long, delicate; stamens numerous, filaments pale white, about 12 mm long, erect or spreading, anther straw coloured; ovary inferior, ovules numerous, style about 10 cm long, stigma green, capitate. Fruit an ovoid or pear-shaped berry, 4-12 cm long, weighing up to 500 g; skin yellow when ripe, sometimes flushed with red; pulp juicy, creamy-white or creamy-yellow to pink or red; mesocarp thick, edible, the soft pulp enveloping numerous, cream to brown, kidney-shaped or flattened seeds. The exterior of the fruit is fleshy, and the centre consists of a seedy pulp. From the Greek psidion (pomegranate), due to a fancied resemblance between the two fruits.
Rhizophora mucronata	Rhizophora mucronata is a tree up to 27(-30) m tall and with trunk 50-70 cm in diameter; taproot usually abortive; lateral roots numerous, developed from base of the trunk, much branched, usually called stilt roots, hoop or pile-like, supporting the tree; hanging air-roots are sometimes also produced from the lower branches; stem in closed forest cylindrical, or developing a straggling or semi-prostrate habit especially in unfavourable conditions; bark almost black or reddish, rough or sometimes scaly, with prominent, horizontal cracks almost encircling the stem. Leaves leatherly, broadly elliptic to oblong-elliptic, (8.5-)11-18(-23) cm x 5-10.5(-15) cm, with very distinct black dots on the undersurface, tapered at both ends and tipped with a fine spine, glossy green above and paler beneath; petiole 2.5-5.5 cm long; stipules large, 5.5-8.5 cm long, pinkish or reddish, sticky. Inflorescences axillary, 2 or 3 times forked, rather loosely (1-)3-5(-12)-flowered; peduncles 2.5-5 cm long; flowers with 4-8 mm long pedicels and united, cup-shaped bracteoles at the base; calyx deeply lobed, 13-19 mm long, pale yellow or almost white; petals lanceolate, 9 mm long, light yellowish, densely hairy along the margins, sparsely hairy on the back; stamens 8, sessile, equal, anthers 6-8 mm long; ovary semi-inferior, free part high conical, 2.5-3 mm high, style very short, 0.5-1.5 mm long, obscurely 2-lobed. Mature fruit an elongately ovoid berry, 5-7 cm x 2.5-3.5 cm with hardly contracted apex and often rugose base, dull brown-green. Seedlings with cotyledons 2-4 cm protruding from the fruit; hypocotyls hanging, cylindrical, 36-64(-over 100) cm x 1.8-2.5 cm, tuberculate, usually straight, gradually narrowed upwards into a hard, shrap point. One should keep in mind that, at least in Malesia, botanical information on R. mucronata can often also be applied to a closely allied, also common, widely distributed species R. apiculata Blume. The latter species can be distinguished from R. mucronata in the field by some easily observed characters. The bark is grey, almost smooth, with vertical fissures. Inflorescences are shorter, fork only once, and are always 2-flowered. Seedling hypocotyls are usually less than 30 cm long, smooth. In western Malaysia and west from New Guinea a few specimens occur with characters intermediate between R. mucronata, R. apiculata and a third species, R. stylosa Griffith. Hybridization might occur in nature between these species.
Sclerocarya birrea ssp. caffra	Sclerocarya birrea ssp. caffra is a medium to large tree, usually 9 m tall, but trees up to 18 m have been recorded; it is single stemmed with a dense, spreading crown and deciduous foliage; the bark is grey and usually peels off in flat, round disks, exposing the underlying light yellow tissue; young twigs are thick and digitaliform with spirally arranged composite leaves at their ends; it has a thick, relatively short taproot reaching depths of 2.4 m, lateral roots branch at the upper 60 cm of soil; mycorrhizae (root fungus) are found on the fine roots. Leaves 18-25 x 8-15 cm, composite, containing 2-23 leaflets, averaging 11; leaflets oblong elliptic with petioles ranging from very short to 20 mm in length. Although male and female flowers occasionally occur on the same tree, it is considered dioecious. Male flowers are borne in groups of 3s on racemes below new leaves, dark red when young, turning pink or white when open. The female flowers are blood red but change colour from purple to white after opening. They occur below the leaves on long peduncles and consist of 4 curling petals, numerous infertile stamens and a long, shiny ovary. Fruit borne in clusters of up to 3 at the end of the twigs and always on the new growth. Fruit a round or oval drupe, usually wider than it is long, with a diameter of 30-40 mm. The shape and number of nuts per stone determine the final shape of the fruit. Marula fruit has a thick, soft leathery exocarp with tiny, round or oval spots, enclosing a juicy, mucilaginous flesh that adheres tightly to the stone and can be removed only by sucking. The flesh tastes tart, sweet and refreshing, although the fruit has a slight turpentine-like aroma and can give off a very unpleasant smell when decaying. Each fruit contains an exceedingly hard seed, which is covered by fibrous matter. It is usually trilocular, but sometimes only bilocular. Each seed locule contains a single, light nut filling the entire cavity, which is sealed by a round, hard disk that protects the embryo until germination. The name ‘sclerocarya’ is derived from two Greek words, ‘skleros’ and ‘karyon’, meaning ‘hard’ and ‘nut’, respectively, and refers to the hard stone of the fruit. ‘Birrea’ comes from ‘birr’, the common name for the tree in Senegal, and caffra from ‘Kaffaria’ (Eastern Cape, South Africa).
Simaruba glauca	The mature tree attains a height of 25-27 m and a stem diameter of 40-50 cm, often with a clear, cylindrical bole to 9 m. The crown is narrow, with a width averaging 4-6 m, and a crown width-to-dbh ratio of 22:25. Simarouba glauca develops a shallow root system often suitable to mountain soils. Leaves dark green above; oblong, and often notched or smooth at the apex. The specific name ‘glauca’ means covered with a bloom, which refers to the bluish-green foliage; it is derived from the Greek work ‘glaukos’ (bluish).
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.
Tectona grandis	Tectona grandis is a large, deciduous tree reaching over 30 m in height in favourable conditions. Crown open with many small branches; the bole is often buttressed and may be fluted, up to 15 m long below the 1st branches, up to 1 m dbh. Bark is brown, distinctly fibrous with shallow, longitudinal fissures. The root system is superficial, often no deeper than 50 cm, but roots may extend laterally up to 15 m from the stem. The very large, 4-sided leaves are shed for 3-4 months during the later half of the dry season, leaving the branchlets bare. Shiny above, hairy below, vein network clear, about 30 x 20 cm but young leaves up to 1 m long. Flowers small, about 8 mm across, mauve to white and arranged in large, flowering heads, about 45 cm long; found on the topmost branches in the unshaded part of the crown. Fruit is a drupe with 4 chambers; round, hard and woody, enclosed in an inflated, bladder-like covering; pale green at first, then brown at maturity. Each fruit may contain 0 to 4 seeds. There are 1 000-3500 fruits/kg. The generic name comes from ‘tekka’, the Malabar name for T. grandis. The specific name, ‘grandis’, is Latin for ‘large’ or ‘great’.
Terminalia ivorensis	Terminalia ivorensis is a large deciduous forest tree ranging in height from 15 to 46 m, branchless for up to 30 m, dbh 2-4.75 m. Bole clean, very straight with small buttresses and sometimes fluted. Mature trees very flat topped with a wide horizontal canopy of evenly distributed foliage arising from the apex of the straight bole. In young trees, the branches are whorled; deciduous, young shoots and foliage falling a few years after initial growth, leaving sockets to mark their original position on the bole. Bark smooth and light grey to dark brown when young and on branchlets; in mature trees often blackish, with deep longitudinal fissures. The bark flakes off in long thin strips. Slash yellow. T. ivorensis forms a good taproot supported by 6-8 powerful lateral roots. There is also evidence of a widespread and rather superficial root system. Leaves 6.4-12.7 x 2.5-6 cm, whorled, simple, oval, blunt tipped with orange-brown hairs below and on veins above, also on the short stalks; 6-7 pairs widely spaced veins, prominent below. Flowers in axillary spikes 7.6-10.2 cm long with bisexual flowers nearly to the apex. The lower receptacle is densely tomentose, the upper receptacle less so. Fruit winged and somewhat variable in size, especially in the width of the wings. Elongated and narrow, emarginate and slightly decurrent, 5.8-10 x 1.7-2 cm, finely tomentose with very short reddish or orange-brown hairs, pedicel 7-11 mm long. When ripe it is reddish-brown and woody, frequently having a weevil hole; oval seed in the centre, 1.5 cm. The generic name comes from the Latin ‘terminalis’ (ending), and refers to the habit of the leaves being crowded at the ends of the shoots.
Terminalia superba	Terminalia superba is a large tree, up to 50 m tall and 5 m in girth, bole cylindrical, long and straight with large, flat buttresses, 6 m above the soil surface; crown open, generally flattened, consisting of a few whorled branches. Bark fairly smooth, greying, flaking off in small patches; slash yellow. Root system frequently fairly shallow, and as the tree ages the taproot disappears. Buttresses, from which descending roots arise at some distance from the trunk, then support the tree. Leaves simple, alternate, in tufts at the ends of the branches; deciduous, leaving pronounced scars on twigs when shed. Petiole 3-7 cm long, flattened above, with a pair of subopposite glands below the blade; lamina glabrous, obovate, 6-12 x 2.5-7 cm, with a short acuminate apex. Nerves 6-8 pairs; secondary reticulation inconspicuous. Inflorescence a 7-18-cm, laxly flowered spike, peduncle densely pubescent; flowers sessile, small, greenish-white; calyx tube saucer shaped, with 5 short triangular lobes. Petals absent. Stamens usually twice the number of calyx lobes (usually 10), in 2 whorls, glabrous; filaments a little longer than calyx; intrastaminal disc annular, flattened, 0.3 mm thick; densely woolly pubescent. Fruit a small, transversely winged, sessile, golden-brown smooth nut, 1.5-2.5 x 4-7 cm (including the wings). Nut without the wing about 1.5 x 2 cm when mature, usually containing 1 seed. The generic name comes from the Latin ‘terminalis’ (ending), and refers to the habit of the leaves being crowded at the ends of the shoots.
Ximenia caffra	Ximenia caffra is a sparsely branched shrub or small tree to 6 m tall with a shapeless, untidy crown. Branches and twigs are armed with stout axillary spines and are glabrous or dense tomentose. Bark is grayish-brown to black, longitudinally fissured bark, red slash and rough on older, larger species. Leaves simple, alternate, elliptic to lanceolate, 2.5-9 cm long by 1.2-5 cm wide, leathery, blue-green, often fascicled on dwarf, lateral shoots, margin entire, apex rounded or notched, base broadly tapering to rounded, often hairy when young and turning to shiny green when getting older and petiole about 8 mm long. Flowers greenish to creamy white, sometimes tinged pink to red, up to 12mm long, small and in clusters or fascicled, in the axils of spines or on dwarf lateral shoots, sometimes pink to red bearded around the throat of the corolla; pedicels 3-6 cm long. Fruit ellipsoidal or ovoid drupe, about 3.5 cm long and 2.5 cm in diameter, greenish when young, orange to red flesh when ripe with juicy pulps and a smooth skin. Seed 1, smooth, ellipsoid, yellowish-brown to red, up to 2.5 cm long, 1 cm thick, hard coated. There are two varieties which can be distinguished by the degree of hairiness of the leaves. These are var. caffra (the leaves remain velvety of hairy to maturity) and var. natalensis Sond. (the leaves are without hairs even when young).