Irvingia grandifolia
Tree 40 m tall; buttresses usually present, to 4 m high; bole straight and unbranched for 20 m; diam. above buttresses to 1.5 m; crown spreading and hemispherical; foliage sparse and regular; individual leaves clearly visible from the ground pendant; often deciduous or nearly so; flushing usually affects the whole tree at once; terminal branchlets 2.5-3-4.5 mm diam. Leaves large and pendulous, ovate to elliptic, occasionally oblong or very wide ovate, or obovate; apex broadly acute, often with a barely distinct blunt triangular acumen; base almost always cordate; length 10- 25 cm, width 8-15 cm; immature individuals with leaves to 35 cm long; fresh leaves often very slightly bullate; pressed leaves have secondary venation on the upper surface usually slightly impressed in contrast to the tertiary venation which is raised; secondary venation on under surface rather prominent in contrast to the tertiary which is not raised; quaternary venation tightly reticulate on both surfaces, areolae diam. less than 1 mm; flushing leaves pale red for one or two days before turning pale green; old leaves turn a distinctive bright red before falling and remain red on the ground for some time; drying greenish black or reddish on upper surface and matt grey undersurface. Inflorescence a panicle, terminal, branched to 8 cm long. Flowers subsessile and crowded on the axes; sepals 1-1.5 mm; petals 2-2.5 mm; disc 1.5 mm diam.; filaments 3- 4 mm long. Fruits ovoid to ellipsoid, occasionally slightly laterally flattened; length 4.5-6 cm, width 2.5-4 cm, thickness 2-3.5 cm; green turning yellow after falling; mesocarp soft, juicy and rather mucilaginous when ripe, sweet tasting but little sought after by humans. Seeds 2.8-3.4 cm long, 1.6-2 cm wide, 4-6 mm thick; endosperm present, visible on fresh and preserved specimens as a white layer 0.5-1 mm covering inside of the testa.
Source: Harris D.J. 1996. A Revision of the Irvingiaceae in Africa. Bulletin du Jardin botanique national de Belgique 65: 143-196.
Common
This species occurs in forest on dry land, and occasion-ally in damp situations, although not in seasonally flooded forest. It also occurs in gallery forest and is often left standing in fields. The fruit are swallowed whole by elephants and the pyrenes pass out in the dung. Successful germination in elephant dung has been observed. The mesocarp is eaten by gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, duikers and porcupines. Red Forest Pigs (Potamochoerus porcus) split the pyrenes and eat the seeds of this species. Rodents also open the pyrenes and eat the seeds. Germination takes place beneath the parent tree after the mesocarp has started to rot away, which takes less than a month. The pyrene remains on the surface of the soil or leaf litter and germination is epigeal and phanerocotylar. The hypocotyl elongates during germination and the cotyledons are held horizontally 6-10 cm above the soil surface.
Source: Harris D.J. 1996. A Revision of the Irvingiaceae in Africa. Bulletin du Jardin botanique national de Belgique 65: 143-196.
Lower Guinea and Congo Basin. From Nigeria to Central African Rpublia and Angola
The seeds are occasionally cooked and eaten in Central African Rep., most people do not use this species. The mesocarp is said to be edible by some people but it is little sought after.