Fruit trees we are looking for
Treculia_africana
Treculia africana Decaisne
In Trecul., Ann. Nat. Bot. Ser. 3 (8): 109 (1847)
Common names: French: breadfruit of Africa. English: african breadfruit
Local names: Bafo: bofem- Bakwéri: boembe- Baya: nzoulou, zilo- Ejagham: mfin, ofino- Ewondo: etup- Ibo: oukwa- Pygmy Baka: foussa
Origin, geographical distribution and ecology
Species from tropical Africa, from Senegal to Angola and Mozambique. In Cameroon, it grows almost everywhere in dense forest, often near streams. She is not very gregarious.
Description
Tree up to 50 m tall and 90 cm in diameter; base with fairly high winged buttresses; bent, bumpy and fluted; bark gray, smooth, tender, with horizontal margins, thin slice, about 5-10 mm thick, pale pink, tender, exuding an abundant whitish latex.
Leaves alternate, simple; blade oblong, up to 30 x 13 cm, asymmetric base, apex acuminate; petiole up to 1.5 cm long. Dioecious plant.
Inflorescences solitary or in pairs, globose, axillary.
Numerous, white, fragrant flowers measuring 2-3 cm in diameter; male flowers with 2-3 stamens; female flowers with ovary up to 1-1.5 mm; interfloral clavate bracts, male flowers aborted in female inflorescences.
Fruits: false fruits appearing on the trunk and large branches, spherical, about 30-50 cm in diameter, light green, with black spines, weighing 2-15 kg; fruit itself many (600-1 600), 10-15 mm long, topped with style.
Single seed per fruit, size 1-1.5 x 0.5-1 cm, brown, average weight 0.8 g.
Flowering from October to February. Fruiting from February to March.
Variability and conservation of the resource
The plant is protected during the clearing of crops. It is also planted as a pure plantation and in the hut gardens in the forest zone. Planting material is often wild or nursery stock. Fruit exploitation is artisanal, unregulated and small scale. An inventory for the exploitation of natural stands has been carried out by the forest services in order to have the necessary elements for the regulation of the exploitation of its timber.
Agronomy
The plant regenerates by natural germination of the seeds. The multiplication is done by seed sowing. The emergence takes place in 2-3 weeks and the germination rate is higher than 90%. Growth in height is quite fast.
uses
The parts of the plant used are: seeds, bark and wood. The seeds of Treculia africana are eaten roasted, boiled, grilled or reduced to flour after soaking the fruit in water. Bark scrape is applied to wounds and bark infusion (toxic) is used to treat guinea worm.
The wood of Treculia africana is white and is used in small carpentry: paddles, kitchen utensils etc. (Vivien and Faure 1995, Walker and Sillans 1995). It is also used in Tanzania as a decorative tree for major avenues. This wood produces very good quality coal (Ruffo et al., 2002).