Dacryodes edulis
| Dacryodes edulis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Burseraceae |
| Genus: | Dacryodes |
| Species: | D. edulis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Dacryodes edulis H.J. Lam |
|
 |
|
| Native distribution of the Safou | |
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Dacryodes edulis or safou is a fruit tree native to Africa, sometimes called Atanga (Gabon), Ube (Nigeria),African or bush pear or plum, Nsafu, bush butter tree, or butterfruit.
Dacryodes edulis is an evergreen tree attaining a height of 18–40 m in the forest but not exceeding 12 m in plantations. It has a relatively short trunk and a deep, dense crown. The bark is pale gray and rough with droplets of resin. The leaves are a compound with 5-8 pairs of leaflets. The upper surface of the leaves is glossy. The flowers are yellow and about 5 mm across. They are arranged in a large inflorescence. The fruit is an ellipsoidal drupe which varies in length from 4 to 12 cm. The skin of the fruit is dark blue or violet, whereas the flesh is pale to light green. The tree flowers at the beginning of the rainy season and bears fruits during 2 to 5 months after flowering. There are two variants of Dacryodes edulis: D. e. var. edulis and D. e. var. parvicarpa. The fruit of D. e. var. edulis is larger and the tree has stout, ascending branches. D. e. var. parvicarpa has smaller fruit and slender, drooping branches.
The preferential habitat of D. edulis is a shady, humid tropical forest. However, it adapts well to variations in soil type, humidity, temperature and day length. The natural range extends from Angola in the South, Nigeria and Sierra Leone in the West and Uganda in the East. It is also cultivated in Malaysia.
The oil of fruits of D. edulis is a rich source of fatty acids and triglycerides. The fatty acid compositions of fruit pulp oil of 2 cultivars of D. edulis (cultivars 1 and 2, grown in Cameroon) were determined. Fruits significantly differed in mass, length, thickness of pulp and mass of kernel, but contained similar amounts of oil (64.7 and 62% in cultivars 1 and 2, respectively, with ratios of oil:fruit of 1.4 and 1.54, respectively). The fatty acids (palmitic, oleic, stearic, linolenic and linoleic acids) and triglycerides compositions of oils of both cultivars were similar (although cultivar 1 was richer in palmitolino-olein (18.5 compared with 14.1%) and cultivar 2 was richer in dipalmito-olein (24.6 compared with 16.2%)).
...
Wikipedia