Malvaceae FAMILY

Octolobus spectabilis

Edibility

1/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Octolobus spectabilis is a shrub or a tree with spreading branches; it usually grows up to 10 metres tall, exceptionally to 15 metres. The cylindrical bole is up to 30cm in diameter, occasionally to 60cm; it is free of buttresses[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. , 610 Title Flora of Tropical East Africa Publication Author Beentje H.J. Website http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=396814 Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 2002 ISBN Description Available on-line, a modern flora of East Africa. ]. The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, source of wood and possibly also for food.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeTropical Africa - Sierra Leone to DR Congo and Tanzania, south to Angola.

HabitatForest undergrowth, scattered but common in dry forest types. In Central Africa its habitats are dense humid semi-deciduous forest and gallery forest, at elevations from 525 - 1,000 metres[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. , 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ].