''Strombosia scheffleri'' is a medium-sized tree that is native to
Tropical Africa
The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...
, the species is sometimes planted as a
shade tree
A shade tree is a large tree whose primary role is to provide shade in the surrounding environment due to its spreading canopy and crown, where it may give shelter from sunlight in the heat of the summer for people who seek recreational needs i ...
in coffee and cocoa plantations. It belongs to the family ''
Olacaceae
Olacaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Santalales. They are woody plants, native throughout the tropical regions of the world. , the circumscription of the family varies; some sources maintain a broad family, others split it int ...
''.
Description
''Strombosia scheffleri'' grows up to 25 to 35 meters tall with a straight trunk that is sometimes
buttressed
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ag ...
at the base.
The bark is light brown to greyish or yellowish green in color and flaky, while the slash is creamy revealing a reddish inner bark; its stems tend to hang downwards.
Leaves are opposite and have petioles; leaflets are broaldly elliptic in outline, up to 20 cm long and 9 cm wide.
Inflorescence are arranged in axillary fascicles with flowers that are greenish yellow in color. Fruit is a subglobose berry, up to 1.9 to 2.5 cm in diameter.
The plant's fruiting season is between May and September.
Distribution and habitat
Occurs in Tropical Africa in the
Guinea-Congolian biographical region eastwards to southern Sudan and southwards to Mozambique.
Found in
Afromontane
The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions o ...
rain forests and gallery forest.
Ecology
The fruits and seeds are eaten by
red colobus monkeys,
blue monkey
The blue monkey or diademed monkey (''Cercopithecus mitis'') is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia. It ...
s, mangabays, and
redtail monkeys while seeds are generally dispersed over long distances by bats.
Uses
It is planted as a shade tree in banana, coffee and cocoa plantations.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15354912
Olacaceae