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Lannea microcarpa
Anacardiaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Lannea microcarpa

Lannea microcarpa

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
Growth—

A plant of moist regions in the tropics, growing mainly in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in excess of 900mm[1]. The plant seems to prefer friable deep soils and is often found on cultivated land[2]. The tree has a thick bark which gives it an above-average resistance to bush fires[3]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[4].

Propagation

Seed - no pre-treatment is required to germinate fresh seeds. However, the generally low germination responses are caused by the seed-coat imposed dormancy, not due to an impermeability of the endocarp to water. Scarification and pre-soaking seeds before germination help improve their germination capacity[1]. Fresh seeds germinate readily at a temperature between 25 - 35°c, with 30°c being the optimum[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Lannea+microcarpa>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  2. [2]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs of the Sahel. Their Characteristics and Uses. — von Maydell H. · Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit; Germany · 1990 · ISBN 3-8236-1198-4 ↩︎A well-researched book, usually with more than one photograph of each species and good information on the plant and its uses.
  4. [4]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  5. [5]Lost Crops of Africa. Vol. 3 Fruits. — National Academy Press · 2008 · ISBN 030910596X ↩︎Masses of information on about 70 species of plants that have been utilized as fruits in Africa.
  6. [6]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  7. [7]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  8. [8]Flora of West Tropical Africa — http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=2025 ↩︎An online flora, not yet complet (2012). Very comprehensive as regards to species covered, but the information on each species is often rather terse.