Lannea A.Rich.

Anacardiaceae, J. O. Kokwaro (University of Nairobi). Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1986

Habit

Trees, shrubs or suffrutices; young plants usually with stellate indumentum; bark tough and used as string

Leaves

Leaves alternate, imparipinnate, trifoliolate or rarely unifoliolate, usually clustered at the end of the branches; leaflets sessile or petiolulate, opposite or subopposite, usually entire

Inflorescences

Inflorescences often produced before the leaves, ♂ essentially paniculate but the branchlets reduced to mere knobs on which the flowers are clustered so that they seem spike-like, ♀ racemose to spicate; sometimes the spikelike panicles are themselves branched

Flowers

Plants dioecious, sometimes the trees being entirely ♂ and others producing apparently bisexual flowers in which the stamens may or may not be functional Male flowers: calyx 4-partite, segments imbricate; petals 4, imbricate; stamens 8, with the subulate filaments inserted below the disk; anthers dorsifixed; disk somewhat cup-shaped, 8-crenulate with a 4-cleft vestigial ovary at the centre Female flowers: hermaphrodite or perhaps functionally ♀ only; perianth as in ♂; stamens shorter than ovary, but normally antheriferous; ovary ovoid or subglobose, 4-locular, with 2–3 abortive locules; ovule pendent from a long funicle attached at the apex of the locule; styles 3–4, free, subterminal; stigmas simple or subcapitate

Male

Male flowers: calyx 4-partite, segments imbricate; petals 4, imbricate; stamens 8, with the subulate filaments inserted below the disk; anthers dorsifixed; disk somewhat cup-shaped, 8-crenulate with a 4-cleft vestigial ovary at the centre

Female

Female flowers: hermaphrodite or perhaps functionally ♀ only; perianth as in ♂; stamens shorter than ovary, but normally antheriferous; ovary ovoid or subglobose, 4-locular, with 2–3 abortive locules; ovule pendent from a long funicle attached at the apex of the locule; styles 3–4, free, subterminal; stigmas simple or subcapitate

Fruits

Drupe compressed, obovoid, ovoid or ± oblong, showing persistent separated style-bases; mesocarp thin; endocarp woody, surface ridged and alveolate, with 1–2 ovate opercules at the apex

Seeds

Seeds somewhat reniform, compressed; cotyledons plano-convex.