Tree 5–34 m. high; buttresses none or slight; bark grey or grey-brown, smooth or slightly fissured; branchlets and leaves glabrous (or rarely, and not in the Flora area, minutely pubescent).. Leaves: petiole with rhachis up to 23(–30, fide F.C.B.) cm. long; petiolules 6–15 mm. long; leaflets (2–)3–8(–10, fide F.C.B.), coriaceous, ovate, elliptic, oblong-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, up to 40 cm. long and 17 cm. wide, subacuminate to obtusely pointed at apex.. Racemes l.5–8.5(–12, fide F.C.B.) cm. long; bracts 3–4 mm. long, 4–5 mm. wide; bracteoles 3–4.5 × 2–2.5 mm.. Sepals up to 11(–15, fide F.C.B.) cm. long.. Petals up to 21 cm. long and 11 cm. wide, white or cream with the standard pale yellow.. Stamen-filaments 6–16 cm. long, glabrous or villous below; anthers 1.8–2(–3, fide F.C.B.) cm. long.. Ovary 2.5–3.8 cm. long. Style 5–9(–11, fide F.C.B.) cm. long.. Pods (fide F.C.B.) 17–42(–60) cm. long, 5–12 cm. wide, densely brown-velvety.. Seeds ellipsoid, 3–4.5 cm. long, 1.5–3 cm. wide, compressed, dark red, thin-shelled (description of seeds mostly from F.C.B.).
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A tree. It grows 8-25 m tall. The trunk is straight and the crown is small and dense. The bark is thin and grey-brown. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. The leaf stalk is 4-17 cm long and there are 3-8 leaflets. These are 7-40 cm long by 3-17 cm wide. The leaves are stiff and leathery. The flowers have 5 petals and the flowers occur in groups. There are 4 large white petals 6-10 cm long and a more narrow yellow petal. The fruit are flat woody pods. These are 25 cm long by 7 cm wide. They hang down. They burst open and twist to release dark red seeds. These are flat and rounded and 3.5 cm long.
Rain-forest; periodically flooded riparian formations with Uapaca heudelotii, Irvingia smithii; gallery forest; firm ground and mountain forest; also in swampy forests; at elevations up to 1,800 metres.
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