''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, ...
''.
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 ...
.
![Cooked Canarium schweinfurthii](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Cooked_Canarium_schweinfurthii.jpg)
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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*
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External links
Flora of Uganda
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