Parinari excelsa

Family

Chrysobalanaceae

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Chromosome number

2n = 20

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Synonyms

Parinari holstii Engl. (1895).

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Vernacular names

Mubura, grey plum, Guinea plum, rough-skinned plum (En). Parinari, manguier sauvage, prunier de Guinée (Fr). Parinari, mampataz (Po). Mbula, mbura (Sw).

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Origin and geographic distribution

Parinari excelsa is extremely widespread, occurring on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In Africa it occurs in nearly all forest types of the Guineo-Congolian region, but is absent from the wettest parts; it is also widely distributed on the mountains of East Africa and in the northern part of the Zambezian region. It occurs from Senegal eastward to Sudan and Uganda, and southward to Mozambique and Angola. In South America it is found from Bolivia, Peru and Colombia to eastern Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazil and northward to Costa Rica.

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Uses

The wood, known in trade as ‘sougué’, ‘kokodi’ or ‘African greenheart’, is traditionally used for house posts. Tenda people from Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Guinea use it to make barrels, drums and mortars. In Zambia it is used similarly and to make dug-out canoes. The wood is suitable for heavy construction, also for hydraulic works in sea water, heavy-duty flooring, poles, piles, joinery, interior trim, mine props, vehicle bodies, furniture, ladders, sporting goods, agricultural implements, tool handles, veneer, plywood and block-board. It has been used for railway sleepers after treatment with preservatives. It is in demand as firewood and for charcoal production.
The pulp of the fruit is eaten, but is not as flavourful as that of Parinari curatellifolia Planch. ex Benth. The fruit pulp is also boiled with groundnuts into a sauce, or is fermented into an alcoholic drink. Seeds are oily and eaten after roasting. Roasted bark is added to palm wine to improve its flavour.
Parinari excelsa has numerous uses in traditional medicine in Africa. In the Central African Republic an extract of the bark is taken against gall bladder complaints, and a macerate of the bark is taken in wine as a sexual stimulant. In central DR Congo a decoction of the bark is drunk against chest pain. In Côte d’Ivoire bark decoctions are taken by pregnant women against anaemia and, in combination with a plaster of the leaves, against rheumatic pains. In Tanzania a decoction of the bark enters into medicines against malaria, fever and parasites such as hookworm. In Senegal and Sierra Leone bark decoctions are taken against stomach problems including dysentery. In Senegal and DR Congo a plaster made of the bark is applied to circumcision wounds.
In Senegal and the Central African Republic a decoction of the leaves is applied as a wash or its vapour is inhaled to treat gingivitis and toothache. In Senegal women take root decoctions against headache, stomach pain and infertility. A maceration of the roots is applied to wounds as antiseptic and haemostatic; it is also drunk and applied as a bath against pain of various causes and amnesia. An infusion of the fruit pulp is taken against diarrhoea.
The tree is used for shade in Cinchona and coffee plantations. The nectar in the flowers is collected by honey bees. Leafy twigs are used as fodder. A dye obtained from the fruit pulp and fruit stones is traditionally used to colour leather. In Tanzania the bark has been used in tanning leather. The fibre of the fruit stones is used as tinder to start fire.

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Production and international trade

Formerly, the wood of Parinari excelsa was exploited commercially, e.g. in Sierra Leone where it was logged until 1964; later it was considered undesirable because it is too hard, difficult to work and perishable. Like other Parinari spp., it has now no commercial value in international timber markets, and even in the countries where it grows its value as timber is limited. It cannot be used economically when resawing and machining of dried wood are required, and may only be used on a larger scale for construction purposes as posts or in large sizes, sawn when still green.
In local markets in Guinea fruits were sold in 2002 at US$ 0.15–0.25 per kg.

Properties

The heartwood is yellowish brown, darkening upon exposure to deep red or chocolate brown, and not clearly demarcated from the yellowish white sapwood. The grain is wavy to interlocked, texture moderately coarse to coarse. Fresh sapwood has a smell of honey.
The wood is heavy, with a density of (530–)730–920 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content, and hard. It dries slowly with a tendency to distort, check and split. Air drying prior to kiln drying and mild kiln drying schedules are recommended. Boards of 2.5 cm thick were dried in Liberia to 20% moisture content in 3 months. The shrinkage rates are high, from green to oven dry 5.0–7.6% radial and 8.3–11.4(–12.8)% tangential. Once dry, the wood is moderately stable to unstable in service.
At 12% moisture content, the modulus of rupture is 114–204 N/mm², modulus of elasticity 10,900–18,050(–23,900) N/mm², compression parallel to grain 42–88 N/mm², shear 10–16 N/mm², cleavage 15–26 N/mm, Janka side hardness 7640–8880 N, Chalais-Meudon side hardness (2.9–)4.5–7.8 and Janka end hardness 8220–10,890 N.
The wood is difficult to saw and work with hand and machine tools, and has a strong blunting effect on saw teeth and tool edges due to its high silica content (usually more than 1%). It is best sawn with stellite-tipped blades and when still green. In planing picking up of grain may occur due to the presence of interlocked grain. The wood finishes well if a filler is used. Pre-boring is required for nailing and screwing, but holding properties are good. Steam bending properties are moderate. The gluing properties are moderate. The wood is technically suitable for plywood or veneer only when processed green. It is not suitable for turning or moulding. The wood is resistant to marine borers, but susceptible to attacks by termites and boring insects. Its susceptibility to fungal decay is moderate; in tests in Tanzania untreated wood lasted for less than 1 year in contact with the ground. The sapwood is permeable to preservatives, the heartwood moderately resistant but easily treatable under pressure. The wood is not suitable for pulping.
The yellowish fruit pulp of Parinari excelsa has a taste like avocado, is very nutritive and contains 38–40% carbohydrates. The seed yields about 14% oil. The oil is edible, but dries quickly. It contains α-elaeostearic acid. In spite of the numerous uses of most parts of the tree in traditional medicine, little research has been done into its pharmacological compounds or properties.

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Description

Evergreen large tree up to 45(–50) tall; bole branchless for up to 20(–25) m, straight or somewhat sinuous, cylindrical, up to 150 cm in diameter, with buttresses up to 3 m high; bark surface slightly rough with numerous warty lenticels or with deep longitudinal fissures, yellowish grey to brownish grey, scaling off in flakes, inner bark hard, granular and brittle, red or pale reddish brown with whitish spots, smelling sour, with a resinous exudate; crown rounded or flattened, cauliflower-shaped, dense, golden brown from below; twigs sparsely hairy. Leaves alternate, simple and entire; stipules up to 2 mm long, caducous; petiole 3–8 mm long, terete, with 2 glands becoming inconspicuous with age; blade ovate to oblong-elliptical, 3–10 cm × 1.5–5 cm, base cuneate to rounded, apex acuminate, leathery, glabrous above, densely brownish or greyish hairy below, pinnately veined with 13–24 pairs of lateral veins. Inflorescence a terminal or axillary panicle, up to 12 cm long, brownish hairy. Flowers bisexual, slightly zygomorphic, 5-merous; pedicel 1–2 mm long; receptacle bell-shaped to top-shaped, 2–3 mm long, hairy; sepals narrowly ovate to triangular, 2–3 mm long, hairy; petals free, obovate to narrowly elliptical, 2–2.5 mm long, pinkish white; stamens 7(–8), c. 2 mm long, on 1 side of flower, with 7–8 rudimentary stamens on opposite side; ovary superior, inserted in upper part of receptacle, hairy, 2-celled, style originating from base of ovary, 2.5–3.5 mm long. Fruit an ellipsoid to nearly globose drupe 2.5–6 cm × 2–4 cm, warty, yellowish to reddish brown when ripe, pulp fleshy, yellowish; stone granular and fibrous, slightly ridged, 1(–2)-seeded. Seedling with hypogeal germination; epicotyl 5–10 cm long, hairy; cotyledons remaining within seed coat; first c. 8 leaves strongly reduced, first normal leaves alternate.

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Other botanical information

Parinari comprises about 40 species and is pantropical with most species in tropical America and tropical Asia and 6 in Africa. In general, the species are remarkably similar despite the very large distribution area of the genus. Parinari excelsa is quite variable, particularly in indumentum colour, shape of inflorescence and flower size.
Parinari hypochrysea Mildbr. ex Letouzey & F.White closely resembles Parinari excelsa, but differs in its rounded to cordate leaf bases. It is locally abundant in a narrow band of evergreen coastal rainforest in Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, and its wood is possibly used for similar purposes as that of Parinari excelsa.
Parinari congensis Didr. is an evergreen medium-sized tree up to 30 m tall with often short, tortuous bole up to 100 cm in diameter, characteristic of swamp forest and periodically flooded forest from Guinea and Mali eastward to the Central African Republic and southward to DR Congo. Its orange-brown and hard wood is used for rafters and for posts and poles in construction, and is probably suitable for other purposes similar to Parinari excelsa. In DR Congo the bark is used as purgative and enters into medicines against leprosy, in Congo it is used against dysentery. The fruits are eaten and used as fish bait. The seeds are also edible.

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Anatomy

Wood-anatomical description (IAWA hardwood codes):
Growth rings: 2: growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Vessels: 5: wood diffuse-porous; 9: vessels exclusively solitary (90% or more); 13: simple perforation plates; (19: reticulate, foraminate, and/or other types of multiple perforation plates); 22: intervessel pits alternate; 25: intervessel pits small (4–7 μm); (30: vessel-ray pits with distinct borders; similar to intervessel pits in size and shape throughout the ray cell); (31: vessel-ray pits with much reduced borders to apparently simple: pits rounded or angular); 32: vessel-ray pits with much reduced borders to apparently simple: pits horizontal (scalariform, gash-like) to vertical (palisade); 43: mean tangential diameter of vessel lumina ≥ 200 μm; 46: ≤ 5 vessels per square millimetre; (47: 5–20 vessels per square millimetre). Tracheids and fibres: 62: fibres with distinctly bordered pits; 63: fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls; 66: non-septate fibres present; 69: fibres thin- to thick-walled; 70: fibres very thick-walled. Axial parenchyma: 86: axial parenchyma in narrow bands or lines up to three cells wide; 93: eight (5–8) cells per parenchyma strand; 94: over eight cells per parenchyma strand. Rays: (96: rays exclusively uniseriate); 97: ray width 1–3 cells; 104: all ray cells procumbent; (106: body ray cells procumbent with one row of upright and/or square marginal cells); 116: ≥ 12 rays per mm. Mineral inclusions: 159: silica bodies present; 160: silica bodies in ray cells.
(E. Ebanyenle, P.E. Gasson & E.A. Wheeler)

Growth and development

Growth follows the tree architectural model of Troll, in which all axes grow horizontally, but the basal part of each axis can assume vertical growth after leaf loss to become the new main axis. In Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire trees flower in January–April(–June) and fruit in October–January (–March); in Nigeria flowering occurs in January–May and October–November, and fruits mature in November–December and March; in eastern Tanzania flowering occurs in August–March, and fruit maturation peaks in November–December; in Zambia flowering occurs in July–October, and fruiting in May–November. Seed dispersal is mainly by elephants, which eat the fruits, but some studies indicate that dispersal is very limited. Regeneration in mature forest is poor, except in clearings or along roads. In secondary vegetation gregarious stands of all ages may develop from seedlings and root suckers, and this may eventually result in a single-dominant Parinari excelsa high forest.

Ecology

Parinari excelsa is a characteristic canopy tree occurring throughout the African rainforest, but also in drier forest types such as dry evergreen forest and well-drained fringing forest, in areas with average annual temperatures of 10–27°C, up to 2100 m altitude. Sometimes it persists in grassland after the destruction of forest, and then may act as centre for the re-establishment of forest.

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Propagation and planting

Germination of fruit stones takes 2 months to 3 years, and the germination rate is reported to be low, although natural regeneration may be abundant under optimal circumstances. Parinari excelsa can also be propagated by wildlings and root suckers.

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Management

Densities of up to 0.8 trees per hectare with a bole diameter of more than 60 cm have been recorded in Liberia. The highest density observed in Sierra Leone was 7.5 trees/ha with a bole diameter of 20–60 cm, decreasing to 0.1 trees/ha with a bole diameter of more than 120 cm. Parinari excelsa can be managed by lopping, coppicing and pollarding. Seedlings planted into the field should be protected against herbivores.
In logged-over forest where Parinari excelsa trees have not been removed during logging operations, its numbers may increase as young trees continue to grow and regeneration can be abundant. Under such circumstances, Parinari excelsa may become difficult to control, suppressing more valuable tree species.

Harvesting

In the Central African Republic and Gabon, the minimum bole diameter allowed for harvesting is 70 cm.

Handling after harvest

Freshly harvested logs sink in water and cannot be transported by river.

Genetic resources and breeding

Parinari excelsa is extremely widespread and locally common, also in disturbed forest. Although there are reports that it is locally becoming threatened, there is no general risk of genetic erosion.

Prospects

Although the wood of Parinari excelsa is difficult to work, it is available in large sizes and fairly large amounts and may gain importance as better tools have become available. In its area of distribution it will remain important for construction purposes, firewood and charcoal production, and as a source of edible fruits and products for traditional medicine. It may be promising for agroforestry systems, but more research is needed on suitable propagation methods and silvicultural practices.

Major references

• Aubréville, A., 1959. La flore forestière de la Côte d’Ivoire. Deuxième édition révisée. Tome troisième. Publication No 15. Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, Nogent-sur-Marne, France. 334 pp.
• Bolza, E. & Keating, W.G., 1972. African timbers: the properties, uses and characteristics of 700 species. Division of Building Research, CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia. 710 pp.
• Burkill, H.M., 1985. The useful plants of West Tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. Volume 1, Families A–D. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 960 pp.
• Burkill, H.M., 2000. The useful plants of West Tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. Volume 5, Families S–Z, Addenda. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 686 pp.
• Graham, R.A., 1960. Rosaceae. In: Hubbard, O.B.E. & Milne-Redhead, E. (Editors). Flora of Tropical East Africa. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom. 61 pp.
• Letouzey, R. & White, F., 1978. Chrysobalanaceae. Flore du Cameroun. Volume 20. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. pp. 3–138.
• Phongphaew, P., 2003. The commercial woods of Africa. Linden Publishing, Fresno, California, United States. 206 pp.
• Prance, G.T. & Sothers, C.A., 2003. Chrysobalanaceae 1: Chrysobalanus to Parinari. Species Plantarum: Flora of the World. Part 9. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra, Australia. 319 pp.
• Takahashi, A., 1978. Compilation of data on the mechanical properties of foreign woods (part 3) Africa. Shimane University, Matsue, Japan, 248 pp.
• Vivien, J. & Faure, J.J., 1985. Arbres des forêts denses d’Afrique Centrale. Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, Paris, France. 565 pp.

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Other references

• Baerts, M. & Lehmann, J., 2012. Parinari excelsa. [Internet] Prelude Medicinal Plants Database. Metafro-Infosys, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium http://www.metafro.be/prelude. Accessed March 2012.
• Chilufya, H. & Tengnäs, B., 1996. Agroforestry extension manual for northern Zambia. Regional Soil Conservation Unit, Nairobi, Kenya. 120 + 124 pp.
• Coradin, L., Giannasi, D.E. & Prance, G.T., 1985. Chemosystematic studies in the Chrysobalanaceae. I. Flavonoids in Parinari. Brittonia 37: 169–178.
• de la Mensbruge, G., 1966. La germination et les plantules des essences arborées de la forêt dense humide de la Côte d’Ivoire. Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, Nogent-sur-Marne, France. 389 pp.
• de Saint-Aubin, G., 1963. La forêt du Gabon. Publication No 21 du Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, Nogent-sur-Marne, France. 208 pp.
• Edema, M.O., Oderoha, M. & Daro-Idollo, E., 2009. Physicochemical characteristics of the seed oil of Parinari excelsa (Sabine). Journal of Chemical Society of Nigeria 34(1): 117–118.
• FAO, 1994. Non-wood forest products - A regional expert consultation for English-speaking African countries. [Internet] Arusha, Tanzania, 17–22 October 1993. FAO, Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5325e/x5325e00.htm#Contents. Accessed March 2012.
• Gross-Camp, N.D., Mulindahabi, F. & Kaplin, B.A., 2009. Comparing the dispersal of large seeded tree species by frugivore assemblages in tropical montane forest in Africa. Biotropica 41(4): 442–451.
• Keay, R.W.J., 1958. Rosaceae. In: Keay, R.W.J. (Editor). Flora of West Tropical Africa. Volume 1, part 2. 2nd Edition. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom. pp. 423–433.
• Kryn, J.M. & Fobes, E.W., 1959. The woods of Liberia. Report 2159. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, United States. 147 pp.
• Lovett, J.C., Ruffo, C.K., Gereau, R.E. & Taplin, J.R.D., 2007. Field guide to the moist forest trees of Tanzania. [Internet] Centre for Ecology Law and Policy, Environment Department, University of York, York, United Kingdom. http://celp.org.uk/ projects/ tzforeco/. Accessed March 2012.
• Ogunka-Nnoka, C.U. & Mepba, H.D., 2008. Proximate composition and antinutrient contents of some common spices in Nigeria. Open Food Science Journal 2: 62–67.
• Poorter, L., Bongers, F., Kouamé, F.Y.N. & Hawthorne, W.D., 2004. Biodiversity of West African forests: an ecological atlas of woody plant species. CABI, Wallingford, United Kingdom. 521 pp.
• Prance, G.T. & White, F., 1988. The genera of Chrysobalanaceae: A study in practical and theoretical taxonomy and its relevance to evolutionary biology. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 320(1197): 1–184.
• Ruffo, C.K., Birnie, A. & Tengnäs, B., 2002. Edible wild plants of Tanzania. Technical Handbook No 27. Regional Land Management Unit/ SIDA, Nairobi, Kenya. 766 pp.
• Vivien, J. & Faure, J.J., 1996. Fruitiers sauvages d’Afrique: espèces du Cameroun. Ministère Français de la Coopération, Paris, France & CTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. 416 pp.
• Voorhoeve, A.G., 1965. Liberian high forest trees. A systematic botanical study of the 75 most important or frequent high forest trees, with reference to numerous related species. Pudoc, Wageningen, Netherlands. 416 pp.
• White, F., 1976. The taxonomy, ecology and chorology of African Chrysobalanaceae (excluding Acioa). Bulletin du Jardin botanique national de Belgique 46(3–4): 265–350.
• White, F., 1978. Chrysobalanaceae. In: Launert, E. (Editor). Flora Zambesiaca. Volume 4. Flora Zambesiaca Managing Committee, London, United Kingdom. pp. 33–48.
• White, L. & Abernethy, K., 1997. A guide to the vegetation of the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. 2nd edition. Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, United States. 224 pp.

Afriref references

Sources of illustration

• Keay, R.W.J., 1958. Rosaceae. In: Keay, R.W.J. (Editor). Flora of West Tropical Africa. Volume 1, part 2. 2nd Edition. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom. pp. 423–433.
• Vivien, J. & Faure, J.J., 1985. Arbres des forêts denses d’Afrique Centrale. Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, Paris, France. 565 pp.
• Voorhoeve, A.G., 1965. Liberian high forest trees. A systematic botanical study of the 75 most important or frequent high forest trees, with reference to numerous related species. Pudoc, Wageningen, Netherlands. 416 pp.

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Author(s)

•	L.P.A. Oyen PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Editors

•	R.H.M.J. Lemmens PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands
•	D. Louppe CIRAD, Département Environnements et Sociétés, Cirad es-dir, Campus international de Baillarguet, TA C 105 / D (Bât. C, Bur. 113), 34398 Montpellier Cédex 5, France
•	A.A. Oteng-Amoako Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), University P.O. Box 63, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana

Associate editors

•	E.A. Obeng Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), University P.O. Box 63, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana

Photo editor

•	G.H. Schmelzer PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Oyen, L.P.A., 2012. Parinari excelsa Sabine. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. Lemmens, R.H.M.J., Louppe, D. & Oteng-Amoako, A.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>. Accessed .

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