''Cussonia bancoensis'', commonly called the aky tree, is a

montane rainforest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

tree of the ginsing, or ivy family (

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely ...

) Believed to be originally endemic to

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, but now feral throughout tropical West

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

It is up to 131 feet (forty meters) in height, with few branches (mostly vertical reiterations) each topped with a rosette of large five-pointed palmate leaves. The flowers are malodorous, and pollinated by flies. The wood is rich in potasium, and the ash is favored in making soap.

References

Araliaceae Plants described in 1937 Flora of Ghana Flora of Guinea Flora of Ivory Coast Flora of Liberia Flora of Nigeria Taxa named by André Aubréville Taxa named by François Pellegrin {{Araliaceae-stub