Tree 12–36(?–45) m. tall, with bole clear for often about 9 m.; branches drooping; bark dark grey, not or rarely flaking; slash with a clear exudate.. Leaf-blades oblong or elliptic-oblong, 5–19.5 cm. long, 1.2–7 cm. wide, shortly acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, coriaceous or subcoriaceous, deep green with midrib yellowish beneath; petiole 1–1.8 cm. long.. Male and female flowers large and fleshy, on different trees, both ♂ and ♀ solitary in the axils but ♂ may be crowded at ends of shoots with short internodes and appear terminally racemose if leaves have fallen; pedicels (3.5–)6.5–8 cm. long.. Male flowers: sepals pale yellowish, rounded ovate, the outer 4–8 mm. long, 8–9 mm. wide, the inner ± 2 cm. in diameter; petals cream, flushed scarlet at the base or all scarlet, rounded or spathulate, ± 2.7–3.7 cm. long, 1.8–2.6 cm. wide; staminal bundles crimson, often very unequal, thick and fleshy, 1.8–2 cm. long, 0.8–1 (–1.7) cm. wide, 8 mm. thick, angled on inner face; anthers yellow; disc-lobes green.. Female flowers: similar to the male, the petals up to 2.3 cm. long and wide; stamens reduced to a few free with filaments ± 4 mm. long; ovary ellipsoid or conic, 1.3–1.5 cm. tall, the stigma peltate, sessile, 8–9 mm. wide, 3–4 mm. tall.. Fruit brown or reddish brown, oblong, tapering cylindric-oblong or subglobose, 16–34 cm. long, 15–17 cm. in diameter, weighing 5 1/2–15 lbs. with (7–)12–28 seeds in each of 5 locules.. Seeds with 4 obtuse angles, 4 cm. long, 2–3 cm. wide, one angle with a fleshy aril; testa crustaceous.. Fig. 3/1, 2, p. 9.
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An evergreen tree. It grows 35 m tall. The trunk is cylinder shape with buttresses near the base. The bark is smooth and dark grey. The branches droop and are hollow. They have wrinkles along them. The leaves are simple and opposite. They are 5-20 cm long by 1-7 cm wide. They are leathery and dark green and taper to a short tip. Trees are separately male and female. The flowers occur singly in the axils of leaves. They are also crowded near the ends of branches. The fruit is a long or cone shaped berry. It is 16-34 cm long by 15-17 cm wide. They contain 60-140 seeds. The seeds have 4 angles. They are 4 cm long by 2-3 cm wide.
Seaward slopes and valley bottoms of evergreen submontane and montane forest at elevations of 800-1,200, occasionally to 1,600 metres.
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It is a tropical plant. In Tanzania trees grow between 800-1,200 m altitude. The temperature range is 25°C-35°C.
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