font settings and languages

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia
Languages:

Mammea africana

(African Mammee-Apple)

Common Names

[ Back to top ]

Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

African Apple, African Apricot, African Mammee-Apple, African Mammyapple, African-Apple, African-Apricot, Bastard Mahogany, Bastard-Mahogany

Common Names in French:

Abricotier D´afrique, Obota

Description

[ Back to top ]

Family Clusiaceae

Trees , shrubs , or sometimes herbs containing resin or oil in schizogenous spaces or canals and sometimes black or red glands containing hypericin or pseudohypericin. Leaves simple , entire or rarely gland-fringed, opposite or sometimes whorled , nearly always estipulate. Flowers bisexual or unisexual , regular, hypogynous, solitary or in cymes or thyrses ; bracteoles often inserted just beneath calyx and then not always easily distinguishable from sepals. Sepals (2-) 4 or 5(or 6), imbricate or decussate or rarely wholly united in bud, inner ones sometimes petaloid . Petals [3 or]4 or 5[or 6], free , imbricate or contorted in bud. Stamens many to rarely few (9), in [3 or]4 or 5 bundles (fascicles) that are free and antipetalous or variously connate , with filaments variously united or apparently free and then sometimes sterile (staminodes) ; anther dehiscence longitudinal . Staminode bundles (fasciclodes) 3-5, free and antisepalous or variously connate or absent. Ovary superior, with 2-5(-12) connate carpels, 1-12-loculed, with axile to parietal or basal placentation ; ovules 1 to many on each placenta, erect to pendulous; styles 1-5[-12], free or ± united or absent; stigmas 1-12, punctiform to peltate or, when sessile, radiate , surface papillate or smooth . Fruit a septicidal or septifragal, rarely loculicidal, capsule, berry, or drupe; seeds 1 to many, without or almost without endosperm [sometimes arillate ].

About 40 genera and 1200 species: mainly in tropical regions , except Hypericum and Triadenum, which are both mainly temperate in distribution; eight genera (one endemic) and 95 species (48 endemic, one introduced ) in China.

The Clusiaceae are a rather economically important family . Many species, such as Mesua ferrea and Garcinia paucinervis, have hard wood . Numerous species in Calophyllum, Clusia Linnaeus, and Garcinia produce valuable commercial resin or gum. Gamboge is produced from Garcinia morella Desrousseaux and other species. Garcinia mangostana and Mammea americana Linnaeus produce well-known edible fruits. Other species, such as Calophyllum inophyllum and Garcinia indica Choisy, have oily seeds. Hypericum is important in horticulture and medicine.

[1]

Genus Mammea

Trees , cryptically dioecious. Apical bud not abortive ; buds with scales . Leaves opposite, petiolate , entire, leathery; secondary veins many, nearly parallel, nearly perpendicular to midvein , tertiary venation densely and evenly reticulate , prominent , with translucent gland dots [or streaks] in areoles. Flowers axillary on older twigs , solitary [or fasciculate]. Calyx completely united in bud, splitting at anthesis into 2[or 3] sepals after. Petals [4 or 5 or]6[or 8], imbricate. Filaments slender, basally connate ; anthers erect , basifixed . Ovary 2-loculed, each locule 2-ovuled [or incompletely 4- or 8-loculed, each locule 1-ovuled]; style very short; stigma 2[-4]-lobed. Berry with [thick or] thin exocarp , fleshy mesocarp and 1-4[-8] seeds with testa thin [to fibrous or woody]. Seeds large; embryo with broad fleshy cotyledons completely united externally or not.

About 80 species: mainly in tropical Asia and Madagascar, also in tropical Africa, Australasia, and Central America; one species (endemic) in China.

The plants appear to be androdioecious , but the apparently perfect flowers are in fact carpellate .[2]

Physical Description

Species Mammea africana

This is a medium-sized, sometimes tall tree with a very regular, cylindrical bole and dense evergreen crown of short, regular, horizontal branches. The flush of new leaves is red.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 932 meters (0 to 3,058 feet).[3]

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Place of publication : Trans. Hort. Soc. London 5:457. 1824

Name verified on 20-Feb-1987 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 11-Jan-1995

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Members of the genus Mammea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 80 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. acuminata · M. africana (African Mammee-Apple) · M. americana (South American Apricot) · M. anastomosans · M. angustifolia · M. antongilensis · M. antongiliensis · M. aruana · M. asiatica (Fish-Poison-Tree) · M. birmannica · M. bongo (Bongo) · M. brevipes · M. brevipetiolata · M. calciphila · M. calciphila var. fasciculata · M. calophylloides · M. carvalhoi · M. castrae · M. cauliflora · M. cerasifera · M. congregata · M. cordata · M. decaryana · M. dorsifera · M. ebboro · M. emarginata · M. eugenioides · M. eugenioides var. crepitans · M. eugenioides var. subsessilifolia · M. excelsa · M. furfuracea · M. gilletii · M. giorgiana · M. glauca · M. glaucifolia · M. grandifolia · M. griseo-flavescens · M. harmandii · M. humilis · M. humilis var. plumieri · M. humilis var. vahlii · M. immansueta · M. lancilimba · M. lateriflora · M. longifolia · M. longipetiolata · M. malayana · M. mangabensis · M. megaphylla · M. micrantha · M. monocaula · M. nervosa · M. neurophylla · M. novo-guineensis · M. novoguineensis · M. odorata · M. papuana · M. papyracea · M. perrieri · M. pseudoprotorhus · M. punctata · M. punctata var. rubrifolia · M. ramiflora · M. reticulata · M. sanguinea · M. sessiliflora · M. siamensis · M. similis · M. sinclairii · M. subsessilifolia · M. suriga · M. timorensis · M. touriga · M. usambarensis · M. vatoensis · M. veimauriensis · M. vohemarensis · M. woodii · M. yunnanensis · M. zeereae

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Further Reading

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 16, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Xi-wen Li, Jie Li, Norman K. B. Robson & Peter Stevens "Clusiaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 1. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Xi-wen Li, Jie Li & Peter Stevens "Mammea". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 1, 40. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 198.790 meters (652.198 feet), Standard Deviation = 656.640 based on 42 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/1/2009