Funtumia africana

Invasive species Disclaimer

In view of the fact that some tree species are invasive, the world Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) has put in place a policy document on Invasive Alien Species, currently under draft available at Here.

For more information on this subject, please refer to
100 of the World's worst Invasive and Alien Species.




Species Index    A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Multiple Criteria Search


Abelmoschus moschatus
Acacia aneura
Acacia angustissima
Acacia aulacocarpa
Acacia auriculiformis
Acacia catechu
Acacia cincinnata
Acacia crassicarpa
Acacia elatior
Acacia erioloba
Acacia etbaica
Acacia ferruginea
Acacia glauca
Acacia holosericea
Acacia karroo*
Acacia koa
Acacia laeta
Acacia lahai
Acacia leptocarpa
Acacia leucophloea
Acacia mangium
Acacia mearnsii*
Acacia melanoxylon
Acacia mellifera
Acacia nilotica subsp nilotica
Acacia pachycarpa
Acacia pennatula
Acacia polyacantha ssp. polyacantha
Acacia saligna
Acacia senegal
Acacia seyal
Acacia sieberiana
Acacia tortilis
Acacia xanthophloea
Acrocarpus fraxinifolius
Adansonia digitata
Adenanthera pavonina
Aegle marmelos
Afzelia africana
Afzelia quanzensis
Agathis macrophylla
Agathis philippinensis
Ailanthus altissima
Ailanthus excelsa
Ailanthus triphysa
Albizia adianthifolia
Albizia amara
Albizia anthelmintica
Albizia chinensis
Albizia coriaria
Albizia ferruginea
Albizia gummifera
Albizia julibrissin
Albizia lebbeck
Albizia odoratissima
Albizia procera
Albizia saman
Albizia versicolor
Albizia zygia
Aleurites moluccana
Allanblackia floribunda
Allanblackia stuhlmannii
Allanblackia ulugurensis
Alnus acuminata
Alnus cordata
Alnus japonica
Alnus nepalensis
Alnus rubra
Alphitonia zizyphoides
Alstonia boonei
Alstonia congensis
Alstonia scholaris
Altingia excelsa
Anacardium occidentale
Andira inermis
Annona cherimola
Annona muricata
Annona reticulata
Annona senegalensis
Annona squamosa
Anogeissus latifolia
Anthocephalus cadamba
Antiaris toxicaria
Antidesma bunius
Araucaria bidwillii
Araucaria cunninghamii
Arbutus unedo
Areca catechu
Arenga pinnata
Argania spinosa
Artemisia annua
Artocarpus altilis
Artocarpus camansi
Artocarpus heterophyllus
Artocarpus integer
Artocarpus lakoocha
Artocarpus mariannensis
Asimina triloba
Ateleia herbert-smithii
Aucomea klaineana
Averrhoa bilimbi
Averrhoa carambola
Azadirachta excelsa
Azadirachta indica
Azanza garckeana

Local names:
English (male funtum,Lagos rubber,bush rubber,bastard wild rubber)

Funtumia africana is a tropical tree up to 30 m tall (usually shorter) with a straight, cylindrical trunk and a narrow tree crown. Bark brown to dark in colour, thin and slightly fissured becoming granular on old trees. Slash orange exuding latex copiously.

Leaves elliptic or ovate, base round or cuneate, apex acuminate 20 x 9 cm, with approximately 8-14 main lateral veins on each side, leaf margins wavy. Axils on the main lateral veins not pitted.

Flowers yellow-white, fragrant in dense cymes. Corolla tube 6-10 mm, lobes 5-7mm. 

Fruit grey-brown, fusiform, with an acute or acuminate apex, up to 30 cm long, with hairy wind borne seeds.

Funtumia africana and F. elastica are very similar morphologically and distribution wise, when F. elastica latex is rubbed between the fingers the latex coagulates into balls, whereas F. africana does not. The generic epithet is derived from ‘funtum’, a local Ghanaian (Akan dialect) name of the plant. The specific epithet means 'of Africa'.

Ecology

A forest tree commonly composing the second storey in rainforests, F. africana is commonly associated with Elaeis guineensis, Kolobopetalum chevalieri, Dioscorea preusii, Cnestis hirsutus, Tabernaemontana crassa and Alstonia congensis, this association is the Tabernaemontano-Elaeetum guineensis typicum. Bastard wild rubber is also common in forest regrowth.

Native range
Angola, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda

A forest tree commonly composing the second storey in rainforests, F. africana is commonly associated with Elaeis guineensis, Kolobopetalum chevalieri, Dioscorea preusii, Cnestis hirsutus, Tabernaemontana crassa and Alstonia congensis, this association is the Tabernaemontano-Elaeetum guineensis typicum. Bastard wild rubber is also common in forest regrowth.

Poison: The latex is a weak ingredient and adherent for poisoned arrows.

Erosion control:  The root system of F. africana protects moist forest soil from erosion.

Apiculture: The fragrant yellow-white flowers are visited by bees for nectar and pollen.

Branches and trunk can be used as fuelwood.

Timber:   F. africana wood is white, even textured with a weight of 64 kg/m³. air dry. It is used for cheap joinery, furniture and matchstick manufacture. The wood is also reportedly used for carving stools, doors and miscellaneous household requirements.

Shade or shelter:  The tree casts a heavy, cool shade.

Medicine:  In Africa this species is used to treat urinary incontinence and burns. The leaf and bark are used as enema. The principle alkaloids of F. africana, funtumine and funtumidine are hypotensive.

Gum or resin:  In Kenya, F. africana latex is used as birdlime.

Soil improver:  Leaf litter improves soil fertility of surrounding soil.

Latex or rubber:  F. africana latex polyisoprenes are useless as a source of rubber, Use of bastard wild rubber latex as an adulterant, leads to imperfect coagulation and consequently a valueless rubber.