''Okoubaka'' is a genus of tall forest

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

native to west and central tropical

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 consists of two species, plus a third species or variety. Its name is from the

Anyin language Anyin, also known as Agni, Agny, and Anyi, is a Niger-Congo language spoken mainly in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. It is a Kwa language of the Central Tano branch, forming a dialect continuum with Baoulé, and is closely related to Nzema and S ...

meaning a tree with

allelopathic Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have ben ...

properties, or a tree that causes the death of surrounding vegetation. The tree was once common throughout

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

and parts of

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

, with ''O. aubrevillei'' being the primary West African species, and ''O. michelsonii'' found in Central Africa. ''O. aubrevillei'' was originally named ''Oktoknema okoubaka'' and placed in the Octoknemaceae or

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 ...

; however careful morphological studies of the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s have led to it being classified as ''Okoubaka'' and placed in the Santalaceae.

Species

*'' Okoubaka aubrevillei'' (formerly called ''Octoknema okoubaka'' ) **''O. aubrevillei'' var. ''glabrescentifolia'' – variety found in

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

*'' Okoubaka michelsonii''

References

Santalaceae Trees of Africa Santalaceae genera Taxa named by François Pellegrin {{Santalales-stub