Afrostyrax lepidophyllus
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Afrostyrax lepidophyllus |
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| Mildbr. |
Afrostyrax lepidophyllus is a tree or shrub in the Huaceae family from central Africa .
description
Afrostyrax lepidophyllus usually grows as an evergreen tree to a height of around 20-25 meters. It rarely only grows as a small shrub. The trunk diameter reaches about 40-50 centimeters. The trunk is slightly fluted at the base. The brownish bark flakes off with age. The tree smells like garlic.
The simple and alternate, papery leaves have short stems. The short, up to about 1–1.5 cm long petiole is briefly brownish and scaly-haired. The entire, ovate to lanceolate or elliptical, elongated to obovate, lanceolate leaves are acuminate to acuminate or tail. The entire-edged leaves are 7.5–26.5 inches long and 3–9 inches wide. On the upper side they are slightly shiny to dull, glabrous and partly "frosted", on the underside they are initially dense gray-brownish, fawn-brown to rusty, very short and scaly-haired, they are bald and then olive green. The veins are pinnate with curved side veins. The small stipules fall off early.
The flowers appear in clusters (up to 10–15) axillary or ramiflor on the branch or twig. The five-fold, stalked and yellow to orange-yellow, small flowers are hermaphroditic with a double flower envelope . There are small, mostly sloping bracts and aprons . The 8–13 millimeter long peduncle and outside the 3.5–4 millimeter long calyx are brown, scaly-haired and the inside, whitish, bald calyx tears open 3–5 lobes and outside the sepals each have 1–2 glands. The 4–5 millimeter long, elongated, slightly fleshy petals are dense on the outside, short, scaly-haired and finely haired on the inside. There are 8-10 short, free stamens and the anthers have a minimal pointed appendage. The hairy, unilocular ovary is upper constant with very short, bald and conical stylus with minimal scar .
There are small, 3-3.5 cm wide and very fine, dark brown hairy, ovate to rounded, usually one to two-seeded, slightly fünfrippge, -eckige drupes with calyx remains and made thinner, more brittle and solid shell. The semi-loose, smooth seeds are brown and about 2 inches tall and they smell like garlic.
Taxonomy
It was first described in 1913 by Johannes Mildbraed in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49: 556.
use
The chopped bark and leaves are used as a garlic seasoning. The seeds are eaten cooked.
literature
- K. Kubitzki : The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol.IX : Flowering Plants Eudicots , Springer, 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-32214-6 , pp. 191 ff.
- Quentin Meunier, Carl Moumbogou, Jean-Louis Doucet: Les arbres utiles du Gabon. Presses Agronomiques de Gembloux, 2015, ISBN 978-2-87016-134-0 , p. 202 f, limited preview in the Google book search.
- Flore du Gabon. Vol. 38, 2009, ISBN 978-3-8236-1562-0 , p. 22 f.
Web links
- Afrostyrax lepidophyllus at Botanic Garden Meise, The Digital Flora of Central Africa (illustration).
- Afrostyrax lepidophyllus at gardenbreizh.org (pictures).