Anacardiaceae
Sclerocarya
Sclerocarya birrea

Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra (Sond.) Kokwaro

First published in Kew Bull. 34: 756 (1980)
This subspecies is accepted
The native range of this subspecies is Kenya to S. Africa, Mayotte, Madagascar. It is a tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Anacardiaceae, Rosette Fernandes and A. Fernandes. Flora Zambesiaca 2:2. 1966

Morphology General Habit
A thick-boled laxly branched tree, up to 18 m. tall; bark greyish, widely reticulate; branches spreading.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 7–13 (17)-foliolate; petiole and rhachis 15–30 cm. long, hemicylindric, canaliculate above, glabrous; leaflets discolorous, 3–9·5(11) × 1·5–3·5(6) cm., ovate, oblong-elliptic or elliptic, acuminate with the acumen up to 10 × 4 mm. or sometimes acuminate-caudate, margin entire or sometimes dentate-serrate on suckers, asymmetric and slightly cuneate or rounded at the base, petiolulate, the lateral petiolules 0·5–3 cm. long, the terminal one up to 5 cm. long, membranous to subcoriaceous, glabrous; midrib prominent on both sides, lateral nerves distinct above, impressed or slightly raised below, reticulation very close and nearly inconspicuous; male inflorescences axillary and terminal, 7–17 cm. long, with puberulous axis; bracts 2 × 1·5 mm., ovate, obtuse, puberulous or glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Male flowers: sepals c. 2 mm. long and broad; petals yellow to purplish-pink (red in bud), 4–6 × 3–4 mm., oblong-ovate, obtuse; filaments c. 3 mm. long; anthers 1–1·5 mm.
sex Male
Male flowers: sepals c. 2 mm. long and broad; petals yellow to purplish-pink (red in bud), 4–6 × 3–4 mm., oblong-ovate, obtuse; filaments c. 3 mm. long; anthers 1–1·5 mm.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Female inflorescences subterminal, shorter than the male ones and with fewer flowers; axis and pedicels thickened in the fruiting state; sepals and petals ± as in the male flowers; staminodes 15–25; ovary subglobose.
sex Female
Female inflorescences subterminal, shorter than the male ones and with fewer flowers; axis and pedicels thickened in the fruiting state; sepals and petals ± as in the male flowers; staminodes 15–25; ovary subglobose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Drupe yellow, 3–3·5 cm. in diam., with very juicy mesocarp; stone 2–3 × 2·5 cm., thick, obovoid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed c. 1·5–2 cm. × 0·4–0·8 cm.
[FZ]

Sources

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • 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 Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images