Baillonella toxisperma
Large tree to 60(–70) m tall, up to 3m in diameter; bole straight and cylindrical, sometimes swollen in lower part, reaching up to 30 m to the first branches, buttresses absent; bark 4–5 cm thick, surface red-brown to dark grey, deeply longitudinally furrowed, slash red-brown in outer part, yellow-pink in inner part, exuding a white sticky latex; crown umbrella-shaped, very large, up to 50 m in diameter. Leaves spirally arranged in tufts at the ends of branches, simple; stipules lanceolate, persistent; petiole 3–4 cm long; blade narrowly obovate, 15–30 cm × 5–10 cm, cuneate at base, shortly acuminate at apex, initially reddish hairy below but glabrescent, lateral veins numerous, distinct, curving and joined near leaf margin. Flowers in dense fascicles at the ends of branches, bisexual; pedicel 2–3 cm long, pubescent; calyx with 2 whorls of 4 lobes ca. 1 cm long, pubescent outside; corolla tube ca. 2.5 mm long, lobes 8, ca. 4 mm long, each lobe with 2 large lateral segments c. 5.5 mm long, creamy white; stamens 8, inserted on the corolla tube in front of the corolla lobes, free, filaments short, 8 larger staminodes alternating with the stamens; ovary superior, long-hairy, 8-celled, each cell with 1 ovule, style short. Fruit a large, globose, smooth berry 5–8 cm in diameter, grey-green, becoming greenish yellow when ripe, containing 1–2(–3) seeds in a pale yellowish pulp. Seeds ellipsoid, slightly laterally compressed, ca. 4 cm long, testa thin, smooth and shining in dorsal part, rough and bullate in ventral part; endosperm thin or absent. Seedling with epigeal germination, hypocotyl short, 0.5–1.5 cm long, epicotyl 15–26 cm long, reddish to greyish brown hairy, cotyledons thick, sessile, c. 4 cm × 1 cm, green.
Source: http://database.prota.org
Common
This species occurs in primary rain forest in humid and warm climates, with a mean annual temperature of 23–26°C and mean annual rainfall of 1500–3000 mm. It generally occurs in low density, with only about 1 adult tree per 20 ha, on all soil types except marshy soil.
Lower Guinea endemic, from southern Nigeria to Gabon, Congo and south-western Democratic Republic of Congo
Wood used for in carpentry. Fruit pulp eaten fresh. Seed kernel contains fatty oil used in cooking, in cosmetics and in traditional medicine. Bark decoctions is used in traditional pharmacopoeia to treat kidney problems, toothache, rachitis, vaginal infections and affections of the respiratory and digestive tracts.