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Uapaca kirkiana
Phyllanthaceae FAMILY

Uapaca kirkiana

Uapaca kirkiana

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

The plant is are found wild at an altitude of 500 - 2,000 metres in the tropics[1]. It grows best where the mean annual temperature is within the range of 18 - 24°c, though it tolerates 12 - 32°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 700 - 1,500mm, but can tolerate 500 - 2,000mm[1, 2]. Plants are very intolerant of frost[3]. Prefers a sunny position, tolerating light shade[2]. Tolerant of poor, shallow, gravel and sandy loam soils[1]. Normally found in acidic soils with a pH 4 - 6.5[1, 2]. Dioecious - both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required[1].

Propagation

Seed - needs to be sown fresh since it has a limited viability of about 3 weeks[1]. Germination is usually good, especially if the seed is scarified first[1]. Young seedlings need to be given some shade[1]. Division of suckers[1]. Cuttings Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Uapaca+kirkiana>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  5. [5]Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania — Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. · Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. · 2002 · ISBN 9966-896-60-0 ↩︎A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.