Description
''Parinari excelsa'' is a large evergreen tree with a rounded or flattened crown, reaching a height of up to . The trunk is cylindrical, or slightly sinuous, usually branchless in its lower half, with large buttresses at the base. The bark is greyish, either rough with warty lenticels, or deeply fissured and peeling away in flakes. The twigs are golden-brown and slightly hairy. The leaves are alternate, simple and entire, with small stipules and short petioles. The leaf blades are leathery, ovate or oblong-elliptical, and measure up to . They have rounded bases and tapering apexes; the upper sides are bare but the undersides are densely felted with brown or grey hairs. TheDistribution and habitat
left, The Kouratier, an old specimen at _in_Guinea">Dalaba_in_ _in_Guinea">Dalaba_in_Guinea,_West_Africa">Guinea.html"_;"title="Dalaba_in_Guinea">Dalaba_in_Guinea,_West_Africa ''Parinari_excelsa''_is_native_to_the_forests_of_tropical_Africa_and_also_grows_in_South_America._In_Africa_its_range_extends_from_Senegal_to_Sudan,_and_southward_to_Angola_and_Mozambique._In_South_America_its_range_extends_from_Costa_Rica_southward_and_eastward_to_Bolivia,_Peru_and_Brazil._It_is_a_rainforest_species_but_does_not_grow_in_the_wettest_locations,_and_is_found_in_dry_evergreen_forest_and_gallery_forests,_at_altitudes_up_to_about_._It_sometimes_springs_up_in_clear-felled_areas,_often_in_patches_growing_from_seeds_or_root_suckers,_and_may_come_to_dominate_parts_of_regenerating_secondary_forest._Ecology
The_fruits_are_attractive_to_African_elephant.html" ;"title="Guinea,_West_Africa.html" ;"title="Guinea.html" ;"title="Dalaba in Guinea">Dalaba in Guinea, West Africa">Guinea.html" ;"title="Dalaba in Guinea">Dalaba in Guinea, West Africa ''Parinari excelsa'' is native to the forests of tropical Africa and also grows in South America. In Africa its range extends from Senegal to Sudan, and southward to Angola and Mozambique. In South America its range extends from Costa Rica southward and eastward to Bolivia, Peru and Brazil. It is a rainforest species but does not grow in the wettest locations, and is found in dry evergreen forest and gallery forests, at altitudes up to about . It sometimes springs up in clear-felled areas, often in patches growing from seeds or root suckers, and may come to dominate parts of regenerating secondary forest.Ecology
The fruits are attractive to African elephant">elephants, which disperse the seeds in their dung; the tree does not regenerate well in mature forest, but does so in clearings and alongside tracks. The Sanje mangabey in Tanzania also feeds on the fruit, cracking open the hard seeds with their powerful premolar teeth. At the Taï National Park on the Ivory Coast, chimpanzees consume a significant quantity of ''P. excelsa'' fruit.Gone Bi, Z. B., and Roman M. Wittig. "Long-term diet of the chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Taï National Park: inter-annual variations in consumption of some key food sources." The chimpanzees of the Taï forest: 40 years of research. Cambridge University Press, 2019. 242-260.References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15369349 excelsa Flora of Africa Flora of South America Flora of Costa Rica Miombo Afromontane flora Plants described in 1824