Lannea welwitschii
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| Lannea welwitschii | |
|---|---|
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| Specimen with a vine clothing the trunk | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Anacardiaceae |
| Genus: | Lannea |
| Species: | L. welwitschii |
| Binomial name | |
| Lannea welwitschii | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Lannea welwitschii is a species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae.[3][4] It is native to the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa. The timber is used to make furniture and utensils and for many other purposes, the fruits can be eaten, and the bark is used to produce a dye, for making rope and in traditional medicine.
A medium-sized evergreen or deciduous tree, L. welwitschii can grow to a height of about 30 m (100 ft). The trunk is straight and cylindrical and up to 100 cm (40 in) in diameter. It has no buttresses. The bark is grey or greyish-brown and smooth at first, developing rounded shallow pits and flakes later. The inner bark is fibrous, being reddish with white streaks, and exudes a clear sticky fluid when damaged. The branches form a spreading crown and the twigs bear many lenticels. The leaves are in opposite pairs and are clustered at the ends of the branches. They are pinnate, up to 20 by 12 cm (8 by 5 in), with usually five to seven, ovate leaflets. The inflorescences are pyramidal panicles clad in yellowish hairs, up to 20 cm (8 in) long, growing in the leaf axils. The yellowish-green flowers are unisexual and regular with parts in fours. They are followed by single-seeded drupes, 6 to 8 mm (0.24 to 0.31 in) long, which are black when ripe.[5]
