''Mammea africana'' is a medium to large sized tree within the family

Calophyllaceae Calophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales and is recognized by the APG III system of classification. Most of the 14 genera and 475 species included in this family were previously recognized in the tribe Calophy ...

, it is also known as African mammee apple and its timber is traded under the trade name, Oboto. ''Mammea africana'' is found in evergreen and semi deciduous forests in

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

and

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Tropical Africa.

Description

A medium to large sized tree that can grow up to 40 meters tall with a dark green crown of short spreading branches, it has a cylindrical and straight trunk, that can be up to 27 meters tall without branches. Leaves are simple, coriaceous and thick, the upper surface is glossy dark green while beneath is less shiny and glabrous, the petiole is 0.4–1.5 cm long; leaf-blade is elliptical to oblong in outline, 12–26 cm long and 4–10 cm wide. Flower is axillary on leafy shoots and

cauliflorous Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. This can allow trees to be pollinated or have their seeds dispersed by animals that climb o ...

, with buds that are globular; pedicel is up to 4 cm long, petals are 4, white and caducous, up to 3 cm long. Fruit is a thick drupe, warty, up to 10 cm long, pale yellow in color, it has a coriaceous exocarp, while the mesocarp is juicy and fibrous, yellowish in color, the seed in the endocarp can be up to 65.7mm (2.6 inches) long and 48.7mm (1.9 inches) in thickness. but its most remarkable characteristic is that these seeds have no cotyledons (

seed leaves A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The num ...

)

Distribution

Occurs in from Sierra Leone, eastwards to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Chemistry

Test on stem bark extracts of ''Mammea africana'' identified the presence of

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by a lactone-like chain , forming a second six-membered h ...

derivatives many identified in ''

Mammea americana ''Mammea americana'', commonly known as mammee, mammee apple, mamey, mamey apple, Santo Domingo apricot, tropical apricot, or South American apricot, is an evergreen tree of the family Calophyllaceae, whose fruit is edible. It has also been c ...

'', such as mammea A/AA, mammea B/BB and mammea A/AB, the compounds showed inhibitory effects on microbial activity but also indicated moderate cytotoxicity of a human cell line.

Uses

Extracts of the species are used to treat fever, stomach pains and skin infections such as scabies. Wood is used for local carpentry work, piling and joinery. The fruit is edible though fibrous, it is eaten by locals.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15362394 Flora of West Tropical Africa africana