Family:
Sapotaceae Juss.
Genus:
Vitellaria C.F.Gaertn.

Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertn.

This species is accepted, and its native range is W. Tropical Africa to Uganda.

[FTEA]

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

Morphology General Habit
Tree with stout bole and much-branched spreading crown, height up to 20 m.; bark usually grey or blackish, deeply fissured and splitting into squarish or rectangular corky scales.
Morphology General Shoots
Short-shoots with conspicuous cycad-like annular leaf-base scars.
Morphology General Indumentum
Young shoots, petioles and flower-buds with ferrugineous pubescence of varying density.
Morphology Leaves Petiole
Petioles long, one-third to half length of leaf-lamina.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-lamina oblong to ovate-oblong, 10–25 cm. long, 4.5–14 cm. wide, rounded at apex, base acute to broadly cuneate, margin thickened and undulate; upper and lower surfaces of mature leaf glabrescent or puberulous; lateral nerves 20–30 each side, regularly and closely spaced, slightly arcuate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers fragrant.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels up to 3 cm. long, puberulous to densely pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Outer sepals lanceolate, 9–14 mm. long, 3.5–6 mm. wide, pubescent to ± floccose externally; inner sepals slightly smaller.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla cream; tube 2.5–4 mm. long, glabrous or pilose externally; lobes broadly ovate, 7–11 mm. long, 4.5–7 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Filaments 7–12 mm. long; anthers ± lanceolate, up to 4.5 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Staminodes
Staminodes up to 8 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style 8–15 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Mature fruit greenish, up to 6.5 cm. long and 4.5 cm. in diameter, subglabrous or with pubescence persisting in small patches, containing a sweet pulp surrounding the seed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed up to 5 cm. long, 3.5 cm. in diameter.
Figures
Fig. 10.

Native to:

Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zaïre

Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertn. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Jan 1, 2004 Etuge, M. [4753], Cameroon K000746037 No
Jan 1, 1998 Leeuwenberg, A.J.M. [4387], Burkina Faso K000391978 No
Jan 1, 1998 Barter [721], Niger K000435336 Yes
Jan 1, 1998 Barter [1178], Niger K000435335 Yes
Raynal-Roques, A. [22356], Mali K000391981 No
Leewenberg [4418] Butyrospermum paradoxum 59909.000 No
s.coll. [s.n.], Burkina Faso Butyrospermum paradoxum K000391980 No

First published in Suppl. Carp.: 131 (1807)

Accepted by

  • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
  • Barry, J. P. & Celles, J.S. (1991). Flore de Mauritanie 1: 1-359. Centre Regional de Documentation Pedagogique, Nice.
  • Boudet, G., Lebrun, J.P. & Demange, R. (1986). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali: 1-465. Etudes d'Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux.
  • Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.
  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Pennington, D. (2001 publ. 2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Sapotaceae: 1-364. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Lebrun, J.-P., Audru, J., Gaston, A. & Mosnier, M. (1972). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Tchad Méridional: 1-289. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
  • Barry, J. P. & Celles, J.S. (1991). Flore de Mauritanie 1: 1-359. Centre Regional de Documentation Pedagogique, Nice.
  • Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.
  • Lebrun, J.-P., Audru, J., Gaston, A. & Mosnier, M. (1972). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Tchad Méridional: 1-289. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.
  • Lebrun, J.P., Toutain, B., Gaston, A. & Boudet, G. (1991). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Burkina Faso: 1-341. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.
  • Lisowski, S. (2009). Flore (Angiospermes) de la République de Guinée Scripta Botanica Belgica 41: 1-517.

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0