Canarium schweinfurthii Engl.

Burseraceae, H. Wild. Flora Zambesiaca 2:1. 1963

Morphology General Habit

Tree up to 30 (45) m. tall (but often less in our area); bark grey, rough; crown flattish and much branched; young branches densely ferruginous-pubescent.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves up to 50 cm. long; petiole up to c. 5 cm. long, ferruginous-pubescent; rhachis and petiole flattened above, semicircular in section below, often slightly winged at the edges towards the base; leaflets 8–12 (23)-jugate, up to 15 (18) × 4 (5·5) cm., oblong, apex acuminate, margins entire, base cordate, sparsely pubescent or glabrescent above, ± densely hairy beneath, especially on the nerves, nerves and veins moderately prominent above, more prominent below; petiolules 1–5 mm. long, densely pubescent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers in dense panicles up to 30 cm. long; branches of inflorescence ferruginous-tomentellous; bracts caducous, 1–2 cm. long, ovate-triangular to lanceolate-triangular, ferruginously tomentellous; pedicels 1–5 mm. long, ferruginously tomentellous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx c. 1 cm. long, infundibuliform, lobed about 1/2-way, ferruginous-tomentellous outside and within.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals 0·6–1·2 cm. long, lanceolate, keeled, greyish-tomentellous outside, glabrous within.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens with filaments c. 0·4 mm. long, inserted on the cylindric disk, glabrous; anthers oblong (in female flowers c. 2 mm. long, with the thecae sparsely pubescent).

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk cylindric, pubescent in male flowers.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary ovoid to obconic, glabrous; style c. 2 mm. long; stigma 3-lobed.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit purplish, up to 4 × 2 cm., plum-like, ellipsoid, usually mucronulate; endocarp almost as long as the fruit, hard and trigonously spindle-shaped.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/61987649/156105770

Conservation

LC - least concern

Burseraceae, J.B. Gillett. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1991

Morphology General Habit

Tree up to 40 m. tall with a massive straight cylindrical trunk and widely spreading branches; bark grey, rough; young branches ferruginous-pubescent, soon glabrescent.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves up to 50 cm. long; petiole up to ± 5 cm., flattened above, slightly winged at the base, like the rhachis and petiolules ferruginous-pubescent, sometimes sparsely so; stipules oblong-spathulate, inserted on the petiole well above the base, enclosing the terminal bud, very caducous; petiolules 1–6 mm. long; leaflets 17–25(–45), stiff, entire, dark brownish green when dry, oblong, cordate at the base, acute-acuminate at the apex, sparsely pubescent or glabrescent above, more densely pubescent beneath, especially on the nerves, up to 15(–18) cm. long × 4(–5.5) cm. wide; primary lateral nerves in ± 15 pairs; nerve network dense, prominent beneath, less so above.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Panicles dense, ferruginous-tomentellous, less than 4 cm. wide, up to 30 cm. long, including a peduncle of up to 12 cm.; pedicels 1–5 mm. long, lengthening to 15 mm. in fruit.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx up to 10 mm. long, funnel-shaped, lobed about halfway, ferruginous tomentellous without and within.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals creamy white, up to 12 mm. long, lanceolate, keeled, greyish-tomentellous outside, glabrous within.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens inserted on the pubescent tubular disc; anthers, filaments and disc each ± 2 mm. long in ♂ flowers, ± half as long in the ♀.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary (absent in ♂ flowers) ovoid, glabrous; style ± 2 mm. long; stigma subglobose, 3-lobed.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit purplish, ellipsoid, up to 4 cm. long and 2 cm. wide; stone trigonous-spindle-shaped, nearly as long as the fruit.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Cotyledons divided into 3 linear-elliptic leaflets, each of the 2 lateral leaflets deeply bifid; first foliage leaves oblong, entire.

Figures

Fig. 1/1–8.

Habitat

In cleared forests, rare except by lakes, in drier areas chiefly near rivers; often an isolated tree on cleared ground; 1000–1600 m.; rainfall 900–1400 mm.

Distribution

Senegal to S. Sudan and possibly SW. Ethiopia (but not N. Ethiopia, see note), S. to Angola and Zambia T1 T4 U1 U2 U3 U4

Burseraceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

Morphology General Habit

A large forest tree, to 120 ft. high

Morphology Trunk

Very slight blunt buttresses

Morphology General Exudate

Cut bark copiously exuding gum which solidifies to a whitish resin

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers creamy white

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Ripe fruits purplish, plum-like, containing a hard spindle-shaped, trigonous “stone.”