Treculia africana

Okwabaum ( Treculia africana)

The Okwabaum or African breadfruit tree ( Treculia africana ) is a plant from the family of the mulberry family ( Moraceae ). The seeds found in the distribution area in Africa widely used as food.

Description

The Okwabaum is a fast-growing, large, evergreen broadleaf tree stature heights of 20 to 25, rarely up to 30 meters and trunk diameter of 2-4 meters reached. He leads a milky sap. The crown is spreading and dense, the thick bark is gray. The new growth is red or yellow ( "Hardwood Distribution "). The opposite, short -stalked leaves are leathery, about 30 to 50 inches long, deep green and shiny with lighter undersides pronounced venation. The stipules fall off early.

The Okwabaum is dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( dioecious ). In axillary, doldigen inflorescences brown to yellow flowers, which are about 10 inches tall and plump appear. The fruit associations are large, green, round, fairly smooth with a diameter of about 40 cm and a weight of up to 9 to 25 kg. They contain about 65,000 edible bean-shaped seeds that are embedded in a spongy substance and weigh up to 2.3 kg per fruit.

Dissemination

The tree grows in West Africa, from Senegambia to Angola, but is often also in Central Africa. Related are the breadfruit tree ( Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. ) And the native in tropical America walnut bread ( Brosimum alicastrum Swartz ).

Use

The seeds contain about 19% high quality protein, 15-19 % fat, 40 to 45% strength in addition to 3-9 % sugar, 3-5 % crude fiber and 2.5 % mineral salts.

The pleasant-tasting seeds are eaten by the natives, in Angola and St. Thomé you can find them even regularly in the markets. In West Africa, a meal is prepared from it. This can be baked in a mixture with cassava, sago or Okwamehl to bread and pasta. Similarly, oil can be pressed out of the seed content, which is further processed to margarine. The cultivation of Okwabaums is particularly encouraged in numerous development projects.

System

Synonyms

  • Treculia affona N.E.Br.
  • Treculia africana var nitida Engl
  • Treculia africana var engleriana ( De Wild. Th.Dur et. ) Engl
  • Ficus whytei Stapf.
  • Treculia erinacea A.Chev. , Nom. ( sub). nudum
  • Treculia dewevrei De Wild. et Th.Dur.
  • Ficus welsitschii Miq. noun

Varieties

  • Treculia africana africana var Decne
  • Treculia africana var inversa Okafor
  • Treculia africana var mollis ( Engl ) J. Leonard

Swell

  • Franke, Wolfgang: Crop Science. Thieme, Stuttgart- New York 1992, ISBN 3-13-530405-1
Rosids Rosales Genus Species Broad-leaved tree Umbel
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