''Beilschmiedia gaboonensis'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

tree in the subgenus '' Hufelandia'' of the genus ''

Beilschmiedia ''Beilschmiedia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, N ...

'', in the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...

. It is native to central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is a medium-sized tree which can measure up to 30 m tall with a bole diameter of up to 60 cm. It is distributed from southern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

to the

Congo basin The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...

, occurring in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

and Zaïre. It is associated with marshy locations in lowland

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

. Similarly to ''

Beilschmiedia mannii ''Beilschmiedia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, New ...

'', it is known under the trade names "kanda" and "pink kanda". The bark is used in analgesic and healing ointments.

Description

The trees grow up to 30 metres or more in height with trunks up to 1.2 metres in diameter. It is often the dominant canopy species in lowland forests. The branches are stout, and tend to spread widely. The leaves are dark green, and measure 7–12 cm in length and 3-5 centimetres in width. It produces small inconspicuous

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

flowers (diameter: 2 mm), which are pubescent, with ovate tepals clustered in axillary or subterminal panicles (length: 6 cm). The inflorescence and perianth are sparsely pubescent. The fruit is obovoid, subglobose, ellipsoid to fusiform, and mucronate, and measures about 35–60 mm long. It is scarlet or purplish brown when ripe.

References

gaboonensis Plants described in 1864 Taxa named by George Bentham Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker {{tree-stub