Common Name:

General Information

Mimusops kummel is an evergreen plant ranging in size from a shrub to a large tree usually growing up to 25 metres tall, but occasionally to 35 metres[, ]. The bole can be up to 100cm in diameter[].
The tree is harvested from the wild and used locally as a food, medicine and source of timber. It is also sometimes allowed to remain as a shade tree in coffee plantations. It is sometimes sold in local markets (the report does not specify which part of the plant[])[]. An important fruit tree locally, it warrants domestication and breeding for improved forms[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Guinea and Cote D'Ivoire to Eritrea and Ethiopia, south through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi.

Habitat

Widespread but usually scattered in riverine forest; also found in upland dry evergreen forest and wooded grassland up to 2,100 metres[]. In areas with an annual rainfall of 1,000 mm, it is characteristic of forests on the most humid soils[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	20.00 m
Cultivation Status	Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

The tree is tolerant of pruning and pollarding[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. A sweet, fleshy pulp, it is eaten as a snack[]. Ripe fruits can be dried in the sun, pounded, and the powder used for making juice or an alcoholic beverage[]. The orange-red fruit is an ellipsoid to ovoid berry up to 25mm long, containing a single large seed[].

Medicinal

The roots are used in traditional medicine as a laxative and galactagogue[].

The seeds are used to treat ascariasis[].

The bark is used as a treatment for anaemia, asthma and malaria[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The trees provide a good shade and so are often conserved when land is cleared for planting coffee to serve as shade trees[, ].

Other Uses

The heartwood is reddish brown; distinctly demarcated from the creamy to yellowish sapwood. The wood is heavy and hard[]. It is used for construction, utensils carving, beehives and tool handles[, ]. The branches are used traditionally as arrow shafts[].
The wood is used for fuel and also for making charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - germinates within 18 - 45 days from sowing[].

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