Manilkara obovata (Sabine & G.Don) J.H.Hemsl.

Sapotaceae, J. H. Hemsley. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1968

Morphology General Habit

Medium-sized to tall tree with long clean and slightly fluted bole and buttressed base, height up to 35 m.; bark pale grey to dark brownish-grey, fissured and rough.

Morphology Branches

Young branchlets (from crown) deep purplish-brown with pale lenticels, glabrous. Scars of fallen leaves prominent, sometimes raised and peg-like.

Morphology Leaves Petiole

Petioles 5–18 mm. long, glabrescent.

Morphology Leaves

Leaf-lamina thinly to thickly coriaceous, obovate (rarely obovate-oblong), 3–10(–17) cm. long, l.6–5.5(–7.2) cm. wide, apex rounded or emarginate, rarely subacute, cuneate; upper surface fresh green, glabrous, lower surface paler, drying to a brownish-grey, appearing glabrescent; primary lateral nerves raised, arcuate, very fine and hairlike. Leaves clustered towards apices of branchlets.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers fascicled in axils of older or fallen leaves.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel

Pedicels 4–10 mm. long, with appressed brownish hairs.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx-lobes slightly connate at base; outer lobes ± ovate to ovate-oblong, up to 6 mm. long and 3.5 mm. wide, with brownish pubescence externally; inner lobes slightly narrower and with little pubescence externally.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla white; tube ±1.5 mm. long; lobes trifid; outer segments linear-lanceolate, up to 5 mm. long; median segment narrowly elliptic, up to 4.5 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamen-filaments up to 3.5 mm. long, flattened; anthers up to 2.5 mm. long; staminodes oblong to ± linear, irregularly laciniate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary subglobose, densely pilose, 9–11-locular; style up to 6 mm. long; stigma minutely papillate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruits incompletely known, yellow when ripe, said to be edible, obovoid to subglobose, up to 2.5 cm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Mature seed not known.

Note

The species as here accepted is widespread and includes a number of smaller geographical segregates. Characters such as degree of laciniation and number of segments of staminodes, and minor differences in leaf-size, which previously have been used to distinguish species, have proved impossible to work within the range of material now available. The tree yields a useful timber, known as Nkunya in Uganda, which is very hard and durable in the ground (see Uganda For. Dept. Timber Leaflet No. 3). A single sterile gathering from the E. Usambara Mts. may possibly extend the species range into E. Tanganyika (see under imperfectly known species No. 1, page 73).

Habitat

Lowland rain-forest, riverine forest and swamp-forests of the SW. shores of Lake Victoria, commonly found as a co-dominant canopy tree in the latter with Podocarpus usambarensis var. dawei, P. milanjianus and Baikiaea insignis subsp. minor; 1100–1300 m.

Distribution

T1 U4 extends from Sierra Leone in the west, through Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Dahomey, Nigeria, Cameroun Republic, Gabon and Congo Republic to Zambia and Angola

Sapotaceae, F. K. Kupicha. Flora Zambesiaca 7:1. 1983

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers

Anthers c. 1·5 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Staminodes

Staminodes c. 3 mm. long, oblong in outline, the apex irregularly laciniate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium

Gynoecium up to 8 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit up to 2–5 cm. long, obovoid to subglobose.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed c. 1 cm. long.

Morphology General Habit

Tree up to 14 m. or more.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves coriaceous, exstipulate or with subulate stipules soon falling, not clustered at ends of branches. Leaf lamina 7–14 x 2·–5–7 cm., obovate to oblong, the apex obtuse to cuspidate–acuminate, the base cuspidate; petiole 1–4 cm. long. Upper leaf surface glabrous; midrib slightly impressed, vein reticulation very fine. Lower surface with dense appressed indumentum of minute hairs giving a silvery sheen; midrib prominent, lateral nerves inconspicuous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers clustered in leaf axils, with pedicels c. 1 cm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx c. 5 mm. long, sepals ± elliptic.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla c. 6 mm. long, with tube c. 1·5 mm. long, white to creamy yellow; median segments c. 4 mm. long, narrowly elliptic, lateral segments a little shorter, narrowly triangular.

Sapotaceae, H. Heine. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Morphology General Habit

A fairly large tree, often branched from the base and stem, shrub-like, up to 40 ft. high, in habit

Note

Much resembling Mimusops kummel Bruce ex A. DC. and the following species

Morphology Leaves

The leaves without stipules, more or less crowded towards the end of branchlets

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Clustered white or brown flowers amongst them

Ecology

In gallery forest.