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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. |
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