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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Ailanthus altissima	The tree bears unisexual flowers on different trees. Both male and female flowers appear during July to August. Flowering occurs during May to June and seeds ripen in large, crowned clusters in September to October of the same season, and are dispersed from October to the following spring. Early flowering of vegetatively propagated trees is common.
Allanblackia ulugurensis	Flowering occurs in October to January. Fruits start to ripen in December and continue until February. Insects pollinate this species. Rodents and monkeys eat the flowers and fruits, thus dispersing the seeds
Antidesma bunius	A. bunius is dioecious. In Indonesia, the trees flower in September and October and the fruits mature in February and March. The fruiting season is July to September in North Vietnam. In Florida it extends from late summer through fall and winter because some trees bloom much later than others.
Ateleia herbert-smithii	This is the only known dioecious (with carpellate and staminate flowers restricted to different trees) and wind-pollinated member of the family Leguminosae. Males produce pollen in pulses, and the females are continuously receptive for several weeks. In its native range, it flowers in October- November, and its seeds are ready for collection the following March. Fruit production is prolific and bi-annual. Late onset of seeding (20-30 years) has been reported in Costa Rica. Although the male trees are heavily visited by pollen-collecting social bees, the tree is wind-pollinated and dispersed. The wind-dispersed fruits move up to several hundred meters into open pastures. The very small geographic distribution of this tree appears to be due to a combination of its dioecious behaviour, wind-pollination, wind-dispersal, and slow rate of reaching an age of abundant seed production.
Averrhoa carambola	Heterostyly and self-incompatibility occur in A. carambola. Pollen grains are elongated or spherical; a suitable pollen viability test would be in vitro pollen germination. A. carambola is insect pollinated, the pollinators being honeybees and Diptera species. Flowering continues throughout the year and fruit is available most of the year. Seedling varieties should crop in 3-8 years, selected grafted varieties in only 1-2 years.
Bischofia javanica	B. javanica is dioecious and flowers annually from 8 years onward. In west Java, flowering usually takes place in August-November (-December) and mature fruits can be found in (January-) February-June with a peak in March. In central Java, the fruiting period is from May to November, and in east Java from November-December.
Borassus aethiopum	B. aethiopum is dioecious. Flowering and fruiting take place whole year round. Pollination is largely done by insects. Elephants are fond of the fruit and are reputed to help in dispersing the seed.
Brachylaena huillensis	B. huillensis is a dioecious plant. The male has 2-3 times as many capitula as the female in each branch of the inflorescence. The flowers are small, and dissection of newly opened flowers and buds just about to open reveals no nectar. Flowering coincides with the rainy seasons. In Kenya, B. huillensis flowers twice a year, between mid-April and the end of June and between mid-November and early January. The flowers develop slowly for the next 2-3 months until the next rainy season. Opening is delayed until the rains come, and should they fail, all the buds shrivel and the next season’s buds start to appear. Male flowers almost always open earlier than female one. Bees collect and feed on pollen, which is possibly the main attraction of these flowers. Other pollinators include small flies such as Aprostocetus spp., Eupelmus spp., Mesopolopus spp., Pteromalus spp. and Trupanea albicans. The period available for fertilization is brief, and the development and maturation of the fruit is very rapid. About 10-20% of the seeds are sound at dispersal.
Caesalpinia velutina	C. velutina is believed to be dioecious. Flowering takes place in March-April and the pods remain on the tree until the following dry season (November-February).
Canarium indicum	The trees flower mainly in the dry season and fruit during the wet season. In Vanuatu, fruits ripen between October and March. In New Britain fruiting occurs twice annually, between August and November and then again from April to May. Insects probably effect pollination. The fruits are dispersed by fruit-eating pigeons, wild pigs, rodents and monkeys, and are occasionally eaten and dispersed by bats. Humans gather the fallen fruits and seeds, and may thus be considered a constraint to the successful dispersal of the species, significantly reducing the natural stand of seedlings in communities and forests
Canarium ovatum	Functional hermaphrodites exist in C. ovatum. The inflorescences emerge from the leaf axils of the current season’s growth so that flowering coincides with the annual flush, in the Philippines between March and June. In both male and female trees, the order of blooming of the flowers in the inflorescence is basipetal. Anthesis of male as well as female flowers takes place between 4 and 6 p.m. Anthers dehisce and stigma becomes receptive at anthesis or immediately after it. The flowers are insect pollinated. Fruit set is about 85%. If pollination is successful the ovary begins to enlarge after 1 week and the petals start to drop off. Fruit growth lasts 10 months and follows a sigmoid curve, during which the short, dark green fruitlet ripens into an oblong, purplish-black fruit. On average, seedling trees start producing fruit 5-6 years after planting. Clonal trees bear fruit 3-4 years after planting.
Carica papaya	Carica papaya comes into fruiting within 5 months and live for 4-5 years. Usually male and female flowers are on different trees, but some flowers are bisexual. Pollinating agents include various insects such as larger bees (Xylocarpa, Trigona), honeybees, long-tongued sphinx moths (Sphingidae), humming-bird moths (Macroglossa) and wind. With open (uncontrolled) pollination, a cultivar may lose its identity in a few generations.
Casuarina cunninghamiana	The species is dioecious with individuals bearing unisexual flowers. The pollen is light and thus favours wind pollination. The fertilized female cone enlarges and becomes hard. Seeds are shed rapidly at maturity. Depending upon the season and locality, flowering and seed setting varies and happens either once or twice in a year.
Casuarina glauca	The evidence for wind pollination in casuarinas is persuasive; however, insect pollination is not ruled out. Consists of both male and female trees, that is, it is dioecious (2n = 18).
Cedrus deodara	In natural range, new shoots appear in March or early April. Old leaves are shed in the hot season in May and the persistence of leaves varies with age and growth vigour. Male flowers appear in June, ripen and shed pollen from the middle of September to the middle of October according to locality and its elevation at which time female flowers also ripen for pollination. The female flowers or cones appear in August, are inconspicuous and partly hidden by the rosette of leaves. There is no growth in young fertilized cones until the following spring, and by early May they are large enough to become visible. They become full-sized by the end of June or July and are pale bluish green. They ripen from the end of September to November. The cones may not fall until the early part of December at higher elevation. Thus the time occupied from the first appearance of the female flowers to the ripening of cones is 12.5 to 13.5 months. The periodicity of good seed years is about one in three.
Ceratonia siliqua	C. siliqua is a dioecious tree with some hermaphroditic forms; male, female and hermaphroditic flowers are generally borne on different trees. Unisexual and bisexual flowers are rare in the same inflorescence. The flowers are initially bisexual, but usually 1 sex is suppressed during the development of functionally male or female flowers. C. siliqua is the only Mediterranean tree with the main flowering season in autumn (September-November). However, the time and the length of the flowering period depend on local climatic conditions, as with most fruit and nut trees. Carob bean size is a highly variable character, influenced by many environmental factors as well as level of pollination and fruit set. Pollen dispersal is by insects, mainly bees, flies, wasps and night-flying moths. Flowers of all 3 types secrete nectar; the volume of nectar and its sugar content are higher in female flowers than in male. Male and hermaphroditic flowers emit a semen-like odour that attracts insects. Harvesting is the major cost in carob production. Collecting operations depend on yield, size and shape of pod, and orchard density.
Combretum aculeatum	In Sudan flowering occurs from March to June and fruits from July to October.
Commiphora wightii	In a field examination in India, a predominantly large number of isolated and groups of female individuals were found. Only one andromonoecious and two exclusively male plants were recorded. It was also revealed that female plants set seed irrespective of the presence or absence of pollen. Hand-pollination experiments and embryological studies have confirmed the occurrence of non-pseudogamous apomixis, nucellar polyembryony and autonomous endosperm formation for the first time in this plant, which is presently threatened by over-exploitation (Gupta Promila et.al. 1996). In its natural range in India, the tree drops its leaves during rainy season. This is followed by flowering (October to December) and fruit set (October to January). The young leaves appear towards the end of the dry season.
Dacryodes edulis	D. edulis is dioecious. The trees are male, female, or hermaphroditic. Male trees may produce a limited number of female flowers, and thus some fruit. Bees pollinate the flowers. Flowering time and duration depend on latitude and genotype. In the natural habitat, flowering takes place from January to April, followed by the major fruiting season between May and October. The minor fruiting season is between November and March. Some D. edulis trees flower early, while others flower late and may produce blossoms continuously for several months.
Diospyros kaki	D. kaki trees flower in March; are usually either male or female, but some trees have both male and female flowers. On male plants, occasional perfect (bisexual) flowers occur, producing an atypical fruit. A tree's sexual expression can vary from one year to the other. Many cultivars are parthenocarpic, although some climates require pollination for adequate production. When plants are pollinated, they will produce fruits with seeds and may be larger and have a different flavor and texture than do their seedless counterparts. Many cultivars begin to bear 3-4 years after planting out; others after 5-6 years. Shedding of many blossoms, immature and nearly mature fruits is characteristic of the Japanese persimmon as well as the tendency toward alternate bearing. Harvesting takes place in fall and early winter. Late ripening cultivars may be picked after hard frosts or light-snowfall.
Diospyros melanoxylon	The tree is deciduous or evergreen depending on its habitat. In a dry locality, it is leafless for a short time in the hot weather, regaining its leaves in May-June. In a moist locality, it is evergreen. The flowers appear from April to June on new shoots and the fruit ripens after 1 year. The edible fruits are largely eaten and disseminated by fruit bats and birds, notably hornbills. The tree produces good seed in alternate years.
Diospyros mespiliformis	D. mespiliformis is dioecious and pollinated by bees. Flowering takes place in the rainy season while fruit ripening, which coincides with the dry season takes place 6-8 months after flower fertilization. In southern Africa, flowering occurs from October to November and fruiting from April to September.
Dovyalis caffra	The species is dioecious. In southern Africa, flowering and fruiting occur from November to January. D. caffra starts to fruit when at least 3 years old. Pollination is carried out by insects, and fruits are developed within 4 months.
Ekebergia capensis	Where conditions are favourable, E. capensis is covered with flowers every year, although in unfavourable localities trees may flower sparsely and only once in several years. In southern Africa, trees flower from September to November, and fruiting occurs from December to April but may occur as late as June; in Zambia, flowers appear between August and October and fruits November to January. Pollination is by bees and ants. Fruits are eaten by monkeys and birds, which help to disperse the seed.
Endospermum malaccense	E. malaccense bears fruits at a very early age, normally between 2-3 years of age. It flowers twice a year from February to March and from August to September. Small insects, such as bees and flies, pollinate the species.
Euclea divinorum	E. divinorum is dioecious. The fruits are at times dispersed by Hornbills.
Garcinia gummi-gutta	Seed-grown plants start bearing after 10-12 years whereas grafts from the third year onwards and will attain the stage of full bearing at the age of 12-15 years. In India, flowering occurs in January-March and fruits mature in July. There are also reports of off-season bearers, bearing twice annually. The orange yellow mature fruits either drop from the tree or are harvested manually. The rind is separated for processing immediately after harvest. G. gummi-gatta flowers in the dry season. It appears to be pollinated by wind, bees and small weevils of the genus Deleromus (Curculionidae). Monkeys (Presbytus entellus and Macaca radiata) and species of civets (Paradoxorus hermaphroditus and P. jerdonii) disperse the fruits. The seeds are consumed by two species of arboreal squirrels (Ratufa indica and Funambulus palmaram).
Ginkgo biloba	The maidenhair tree is dioecious. A strong correlation is observed between blooming dates and meteorological factors, an increment of 1-3 deg C in monthly mean temperature enhances Ginkgo blooming in Japan. Ginkgo seeds contained well-developed embryos at the time of dispersal. Sex differentiation in Ginkgo is controlled by the balance of endogenous gibberellic acid (GA3) ethylene and cytokinins. The prevalence of GA3 is beneficial for male sex expression.
Gnetum africanum	This is a dioecious plant with distinct differences in male and female inflorescence structure and size. Female plants often show more vigorous growth with stronger stems than male plants. G. africanum continues to grow during the dry season and new shoots may develop where the stem has been cut or where side shoots have been removed. New shoots are also formed from rhizomes that spread along the forest floor. The distinctly coloured drupe-like seeds are probably dispersed by birds and other animals.
Hagenia abyssinica	Trees have either male or female flowers. Flowering and seeding can be observed throughout the year with a break in the months with the coldest temperatures.
Hippophae rhamnoides	H. rhamnoides is dioecious and wind pollinated. Shrubs usually begin to bear fruit after three years and give maximum yields after seven to eight years. Male trees flower slightly earlier than females and for a period of 6-12 days. H. rhamnoides requires about 12-15 weeks from flowering until fruit become fully mature. Ripening can be as early as late July until early October in China, depending on subspecies, location and altitude. Leaves begin to fall at the end of October, when the average daily temperature falls below zero.
Hyeronima alchorneoides	H. alchorneoides is evergreen with leaves emerging and abscising continuously. The tree is readily recognized in the forest due to the presence of red, pre-senescent leaves in the canopy all year round. Trees are reproductively mature by the time they are 30 cm in dbh. In many places, flowering and fruiting takes place twice a year. The time of flowering can vary according to rainfall and altitude and sometimes there seems to be no fixed seasonality of the seed production. In Costa Rica, the trees flower in May-July and sporadically in November-January. The peak of seed production is in January-March. Small insects pollinate the flowers and the species has obligate cross-pollination. The fruits are fleshy, sweet mesocarp, and are dispersed by monkeys and birds
Hymenocardia acida	H. acida is dioecious, male and female flowers ocurring on different trees. In Zambia flowering starts from September-November. Seeds mature from June-September.
Hyphaene thebaica	Male and female flowers are on different trees; hermaphrodite trees do occur rarely, but their fruits are smaller and sterile. In the Sudan, flowering occurs from February to April and fruiting from November onwards. First fruiting is after 6-8 years. Fruit ripens after 6-8 months, and fruiting takes place at the end of the dry season. In Nigeria, fruit appears in March and persists until the following season’s flowers appear.
Juniperus procera	The species flowers and seeds only periodically every several years. The flowers are inconspicuous. The tree is dioecious and wind pollinated.
Macaranga kilimandscharica	M. kilimandscharica is a dioecious prolific seeder. Three species of turacos the great blue turaco (Corythaeola cristata), the Ruwenzori turaco (Musophaga johnstoni) and the black-billed turaco (Tauraco schuettii) reportedly disperse over 80% of ingested seeds away from parent trees.
Macaranga tanarius	M. tanarius is a dioecious, wind pollinated tree, flowering and fruiting fairly regularly.
Mammea americana	The species is dioecious, trees begin flowering and bearing fruit from 8-13 years. In West Indies, flowering occurs from May-October, fruits take up to a year to mature and are ripe from July-February.
Milicia excelsa	Male and female flowers are found on separate trees, and M. excelsa flowers at slightly different times of the year depending on the area. On the north Kenya coast, flowering can be observed in January or February; at the south coast, from January to March; in western Kenya from October to December as well as in January and February. Flowers appear a few weeks after the partial or complete shedding of leaves or with the new leaves. After pollination, the female flower ripens to a fruit within a month. Birds, bats and squirrels readily eat the fruit and probably disperse the seeds. Normally, seeds ripen before the syncarp.
Myrianthus arboreus	The primates Cercopithecus nictitans, C. neglectus and Galago alleni contribute to seed dispersal. Seed ingestion improves germination in M. arboreus. M. arboreus is dioecious.
Orbignya phalerata	In Brazil, mature fruits begin to fall from their bunches between August and November and continue to drop until the rainy season begins in January and February. The flowering, generally, begins when the palm reaches of 4-5 m high, with near 40% of the plants only producing male inflorescences. In plantations, it is important to leave at least 10% of good male plants distributed to assure the production fruits. The emergence of the leaves and the flowering take place after the rainy season.
Phoenix dactylifera	In 4 or 5 years, the crown clears the ground and the 1st flowering can be expected. P. dactylifera is dioecious. The many varieties are strongly out-breeding, so suckers from quality trees are in high demand for their guaranteed quality.
Phytolacca dioica	Male and female flowers occur on separate trees.
Piliostigma malabaricum	The Malabar orchid is dioecious. In Philippines flowers have been observed during the months of October-November in the region and July-October, in Java flowering is between March and April and fruiting in July-October.
Piliostigma thonningii	A dioecious tree with male and female flowers on different trees. The off-white to pink fragrant flowers appear from November to March in many flowered hanging sprays. The female flowers are superseded from May to September by the large dark red-brown flattened oblong pods. The pods sometimes break up into one-seeded pieces after falling from the tree. The tree becomes nearly leafless in the dry season.
Pistacia integerrima	This is a dioecious tree shedding its leaves during the dry season and is wind pollinated. Flowers from March-May and fruits from June-October. Pistacia atlantica and P. integerrima interbreed.
Populus ciliata	Flowers appear when the trees are still leafless. The wind-pollinated tree has separate male and female flowers borne on separate trees. The ratio of male to female trees varies with site, and on the whole, male trees number more than females in natural populations. The fruits ripen in about 3 months after pollination. Seed dispersal takes place from about the middle of June to the middle of July depending upon the climate of the locality. Early monsoon showers during the seed dispersal period cause the capsules to close. They re-open again to disperse seed in dry spell in July-August.
Populus deltoides	P. deltoides is dioecious with sex ratio of 1 to 1. Male buds develop somewhat earlier than female buds and are much larger. Flowering occurs before leaves appear.Trees as young as 4 to 5 years old have flowered. Male flowers are 8 to 13 cm long, have 40 to 60 reddish stamens and are more conspicuous than the female flowers. Female flowers elongate to 15 to 30 cm. Flowering varies by as much as a month among trees in a stand. As a result, early-flowering trees do not have the opportunity to cross with late-flowering trees. In India, anthesis occurs usually in the 1st week of April, and seed is ripe by early June. In the lower Mississippi Valley of the USA, seed ripening and dispersal take place from mid-May through late August, while in northeastern USA it occurs slightly later. P. deltoides produces large seed crops nearly every year. When shed, the small seed has a small tuft of hair attached to its base that helps in wind dispersal.
Schinziophyton rautanenii	The tree is dioecious and fruits after 15-25 years of growth and may live up to 100 years. From March/ May- October/ November the trees are leafless, whitish flowers appear from September -December (late spring/early summer) just before the beginning of the rains. Fruits develop from December-March, most fall off the tree from April-May, thereafter ripening continues on the ground. Some fallen fruits are eaten by elephants and dispersed in dung. The leaves resprout with onset of rains in September.
Sclerocarya birrea ssp. caffra	Most S. birrea ssp. caffra trees are dioecious, and the monoecious ones are predominantly male. The fruit is abscised when ripening commences so that final ripening takes place on the ground. In South Africa flowering occurs from September to November, and fruiting from January to March. Like many riverine species, it is dispersed by water streams and shows adaptation to water dispersal by having air spaces in the fruits.
Simaruba glauca	The plant is dioecious, with both unisexual and bisexual flowers. It is pollinated by bees. Male trees make up to about 40% of the population in some plantation establishments. Birds relish the ripe drupes and play an important role in seed dispersal. Other fauna that feed on the fruit also help in dispersal, including a lizard species (Ctenosaura similis) in Costa Rica, which ingests the fruit and disperses intact seeds away from the mother trees.
Simmondsia chinensis	Jojoba is a dioecious, wind-pollinated shrub. Flower buds form in the axiles of leaves. Anthesis occurs in March to June when the soil and air temperature rise to above 15°C. Severe water stress prevents opening of flowers. Fruits ripen April to July and seeds fall to the ground in August (about 3-6 months after fertilization). Seed production is generally limited until the fourth year of growth.
Sterculia foetida	In India, new leaves appear in March-April, just after flowering. The flowers, which have a foetid smell, appear in March when the tree is leafless. Fruits ripen the following February, nearly 11 months after the 1st appearance of the flowers. S. foetida is dioecious.
Tarchonanthus camphoratus	T. camphoratus is dioecious.
Telfairia pedata	The oyster nut is dioecious and difficult to differentiate sexually until after flowering. Flowering normally occurs 15-18 months after planting, fruit ripens 5-6 months later. T. pedata produces up to 30 gourds in its third year and continues production for another 20 years.
Uapaca kirkiana	Flowering occurs at the peak of the rainy season. Trees can remain in flower for several months. The species is dioecious and therefore out-crossing. Only casual mentions indicate either insects or specifically bees and wind as possible pollination vectors. Fruit development, a 5-8 month process, commences in the rainy season but extends through the dry season into the next rainy season. It is widely claimed that U. kirkiana is animal dispersed, the sugary pulp, which forms 40-60% of the fresh fruit, making it attractive to a wide range of mammals and birds. The genus is stable, with a chromosome number (2n=26) and devoid of polyploidy.
Zanthoxylum chalybeum	Male and female flowers are on different trees.