''Canarium schweinfurthii'' (commonly known as the bush candle, African olive, African elemi, or canarium), is a species of large tree native to tropical Africa.ICRAF Names in many African languages are variations of ''mupafu''.

Description

Because of similarities in their fruit and leaves, African elemi may be confused with ''

Dacryodes edulis ''Dacryodes edulis'' is a fruit tree native to Africa, sometimes called safou ( Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola), plum (Cameroon), atanga ( Equatorial Guinea and Gabon), ube (Nigeria), African pear, bush pear, ...

''.

Fruit, pulpe et noyau du Canarium schweinfurthii

Distribution and habitat

African elemi is found from the coast of Nigeria, Angola to

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Uses

The African elemi tree is one of several sources of the economically useful oleoresin known elemi. In West Africa this resin is traditionally burned for fumigating dwellings and mixed with oil for body paint. African elemi bears edible fruit with a thick, dense, hard

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

The hard stones of its fruit are used for traditional

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

among

Plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

speakers in the

Middle Belt The Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt or Central Nigeria) is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It ...

of central Nigeria.

Notes

References

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External links

Flora of Uganda {{tree-stub