''Cylicomorpha'' is a plant genus consisting of two species that are native to the African tropics. They are the only African representatives of the

Caricaceae The Caricaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, found primarily in tropical regions of Central and South America and Africa. They are usually short-lived evergreen pachycaul shrubs or small to medium-sized trees growin ...

, and are consequently related to the

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

Habit and appearance

They have the habit of bottle trees, and their soft, dilated trunks are armed with short conical spines. The leaves are digitately lobed. They are strictly

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, and like all Caricaceae, produce abundant milky sap when damaged. The inflorescences are axillary. The male panicles hold many flowers, while the female flowers are solitary or borne in small numbers on short racemes.

Species

Range and occurrence

They occur as tall-growing, pioneer plants in moist

submontane Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograph ...

habitats, where they are local but gregarious. The western species, ''C. solmsii'' is locally threatened by clearance for agriculture and wood, and may be extinct at

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the Southwest Region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous ...

and at Barombi,

Kumba Kumba is a city in the Southwest Region of Cameroon and the administrative capital of Meme Division. It is one of the largest and most economically significant cities in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. Known for its vibrant commercial ac ...

Species interactions

The fruit of both species are eaten by birds and primates.

References

Caricaceae Brassicales genera Afromontane flora {{Brassicales-stub