Terminalia catappa L.

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Photo: Mark Hyde
Caribbea Bay, Kariba, cottages

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Synonyms:
Common names:	Indian-almond (English) Myrobalan (English) Tropical-almond (English)
Description:	Tree to 25 m tall. Branches horizontal, wide-spreading. Leaves 15 - 30 cm long, obovate; apex obtuse or shortly acuminate; petiole short, becoming deep red before they fall. Flowers greenish-white in slender spikes up to 15 cm long. Fruit 5 cm or more long, broadly elliptic, flattened, green or red, the two angles winged. Seed oblong-elliptic.
Notes:	Meg Coates Palgrave comments (Coates Palgrave, 2002, p. 817) that this species is cultivated in the Kariba area and may well have escaped and become naturalised.
Derivation of specific name:	catappa: a native East Indian name
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Widely planted and naturalized along most tropical coastlines. Its origins are now uncertain but probably Asian.
Growth form(s):	Tree.
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Bailey, L.H. (1949). Manual of Cultivated Plants Revised edition. Macmillan, New York. Pages 723 - 724. (Includes a picture). Burrows, J.E., Burrows, S.M., Lötter, M.C. & Schmidt, E. (2018). Trees and Shrubs Mozambique Publishing Print Matters (Pty), Cape Town. Page 687. (Includes a picture). Coates Palgrave, K. (revised and updated by Meg Coates Palgrave) (2002). Trees of Southern Africa 3rd edition. Struik, South Africa Page 817. Da Silva, M.C., Izidine, S. & Amude, A.B. (2004). A preliminary checklist of the vascular plants of Mozambique. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 30 Sabonet, Pretoria Page 149. Ntore, S. & al. (2024). Checklist of the vascular plants of Burundi Page 84. Parker, T. (2023). Common Trees of Mozambique The Tree Press, Austin, Texas, USA Pages 118 - 119. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Terminalia catappa:

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Flora of Mozambique: Terminalia catappa
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Terminalia catappa

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Terminalia catappa
African Plant Database: Terminalia catappa
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Terminalia catappa
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Terminalia catappa
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Terminalia catappa
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Terminalia catappa
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Terminalia catappa
JSTOR Plant Science: Terminalia catappa
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Terminalia catappa
Plants of the World Online: Terminalia catappa
Tropicos: Terminalia catappa
Wikipedia: Terminalia catappa