- Strychnos spinosa
Taxobox
name = Strychnos spinosa
image_width = 240px
regnum =Plant ae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo =Gentianales
familia =Loganiaceae
genus = "Strychnos "
species = "S. spinosa"
binomial = "Strychnos spinosa"
binomial_authority ="Strychnos spinosa" is a tree indigenous to tropical and subtropical
Africa . It produces juicy, sweet-sour, yellow fruits, containing numerous hard brown seeds. Greenish-white flowers grow in dense heads at the ends of branches (Sep-Feb/Spring - summer). Thefruit tend to appear only after good rains. The smooth, hard fruit are large and green, ripen to yellow color. Inside the fruit are tightly packed seeds surrounded by a fleshy, edible covering.Animals such as baboon, monkeys, bushpig, nyala and eland eat the fruit. The leaves are a popular food source for browsers such as duiker, kudu, impala, steenbok, nyala and elephant. It is believed that various insects pollinate the flowers.Common names : Spiny Monkey-orange/Green Monkey Orange (English) Doringklapper (Afrikaans) Morapa (NS) umKwakwa (Swaziland) Nsala (Tswana) Mutamba (Shona) Maboque (Angola)
Distribution
This tree can be found growing singly in well-drained soils. It is found in bushveld, riverine fringes, sand forest and coastal bush from the Eastern Cape , to Kwazulu-Natal , Mozambique and inland to Swaziland ,
Zimbabwe , northern Botswana and northern Namibia , north to tropical Africa.Uses
A traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare. [cite book |authorlink= |author=National Research Council |editor= |others= |title=Lost Crops of Africa: Volume III: Fruits |origdate= |url=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11879 |format= |accessdate=2008-07-25 |edition= |series=Lost Crops of Africa |volume=3 |date=2008-01-25 |publisher=National Academies Press |location= |isbn=978-0-309-10596-5 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages= |chapter=Monkey Oranges |chapterurl=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11879&page=309 |quote= |ref= ]
*The wood can be used for general carpentry. Timber from this tree is also used to produce implement handles, fighting sticks and hut poles. It is also used for carving.
*The species has recently been introduced into Israel as a potential new commercial crop.
*The fruit may be used as a supplementary source of food by rural people during times of shortage.References
External links
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14518952&dopt=Abstract Characterization of monkey orange]
* [http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/strychspin.htm plantzafrica description]
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