Celtis africana Burm.F.

White stinkwood (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Rosales > Cannabaceae > Celtis

Characteristics

Deciduous tree, 5–35 m. tall, with smooth grey bark and often slight horizontal annular ridges (ring marked).. Young twigs tawny pubescent to tomentose.. Leaf-blades ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 5–10.2 cm. long, 2–5.5 cm. wide, acuminate, rounded and a little unequal-sided at the base, serrate in the upper two-thirds, pubescent, ultimately subglabrous except on the nerves beneath, ± scabrous, with the basal lateral nerves extending well into the upper half and the upper prominent lateral nerves 1–2 on each side of the midrib; petiole 1–5 mm. long.. Stipules linear, 4–6 mm. long, pubescent.. Cymes in the lower leaf axils and at the nodes below of 3–15 clustered ♂ flowers with 1.5–4 mm. long pedicels; uppermost cymules of 1–several hermaphroditeflowers with long slender 10–17 mm. long pedicels; intermediate ones polygamous.. Sepals 4–5, 1.5–3 mm. long, pubescent.. Ovary densely hairy; styles unbranched, 2.5–4 mm. long.. Fruits on 10–25 mm. long pedicels, subglobose, ± 5 mm. long, orange, pubescent.
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Deciduous tree or shrub, 2-30 m high, crown spreading, branches without spines, bark mostly grey and smooth. Leaves alternate, base rounded, slightly asymmetrical, margins serrate in upper 2/3, basal lateral veins one on each side; young foliage often tawny-pubescent on both sides. Inflorescence: male cymose or fasciculate; female axillary, solitary or few-flowered clusters. Flowers usually unisexual, male and female on same plants, along with a few bisexual flowers; pedicellate on branches of current year, appearing with leaves in mid-or late spring. Perianth: lobes 4 or 5; tepals pubescent. Fruit orange to blackish, pubescent pedicels up to 18 mm long. Flowering time Sept.-Dec.
Leaves 3–9 x 2.5–5.5 cm. (juvenile leaves up to 13 x 7 cm.), broadly or narrowly ovate to ovate-lanceolate; apex acuminate; base rounded to cuneate and strongly asymmetrical; margin coarsely dentate-serrate in the upper two thirds, rarely crenate or subentire; lamina thinly or thickly chartaceous, ± scabrous, young foliage often densely tawny-pubescent on both sides, later glabrescent except on nerves below; 3-nerved from the base, basal lateral nerves extending well into upper half, upper lateral nerves 1–2 on each side of the midrib, all lateral nerves prominent below; petiole 2.5–5(10) mm. long; stipules linear to linear-obovate, 3–8 mm. long, pubescent.
Deciduous tree, up to 35 m high. Stems without spines. Bark pale grey, smooth. Leaves with blade ovate, 15-100 x 10-50 mm; base asymmetrical, apex shortly and abruptly tapering, margins entire and coarsely toothed or serrate in upper two-thirds, veining on lower surface prominent with 3 major veins from base, sparsely to densely pubescent. Flowers: in loose clusters; stamens greenish yellow; perianth maroon; Aug., Sep. Fruit a yellow drupe, ovoid, ± 6 mm in diameter.
A tall tree. It grows 10-30 m high. It loses its leaves during the year. The trunk is stout. It has small buttresses near the base. The bark is smooth and grey. The wood has an unpleasant smell. The leaves in spring are soft green and then become dark green. The flowers are small and yellow. The fruit are small and round. They are 5-8 mm across and softly hairy. They are yellow or orange.
Inflorescences precocious; those cymes borne in the lower leaf axils and at the nodes below contain 3-many clustered male flowers on pedicels 1.5–5 mm. long; those cymes borne in the uppermost leaf axils contain 1-several bisexual flowers on pedicels 10–17 mm. long; intermediate cymules consisting of both male and bisexual flowers; axis and pedicels usually densely tawny-pubescent.
A spreading tree to 30(35) m. tall, or a shrub, mostly deciduous, monoecious; bole slightly fluted, bark smooth, whitish-grey often pinkish-blotched; freshly cut wood unpleasant-smelling; young stems and branches densely tawny pubescent-tomentose.
Monoecious, deciduous tree to 30 m, with smooth, grey bark, tawny velvety when young. Leaves obliquely ovate-lanceolate, toothed. Flowers 1-few in axillary cymes, greenish.
Deciduous tree, up to 35 m high. Leaf blades entire, coarsely toothed or serrate in upper two-thirds. Stamens yellow. Drupe yellow. Flowers maroon.
Fruit orange, (4)5–7(8) x 3–6 mm. (dried), subglobose, less often ovoid-ellipsoid, pubescent; pedicels 10–25 mm. long.
Ovary densely pubescent; styles unbranched, 1.5–3.5(4) mm. long.
An understorey forest tree, to 50 ft. or more high
Sepals 4–5, 1.5–2.5 mm. long, pubescent.
Slash mottled dark brown and grey.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 12.0 - 30.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Not common but widely distributed at medium to higher elevation in evergreen rainforests, wooded ravines, riverine fringes and on rocky outcrops in high rainfall areas, sometimes on termite mounds; coastal forests in S. Africa; elevations to 2,000 m.
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It is a tropical plant. It grows in mountain forest. In Malawi it grows between 750-2,200 m altitude. It is drought resistant. It is resistant to frost. It is often in rocky places and near rivers. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 2-5
Soil texture 5-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The ripe fruit have a small amount of flesh that can be eaten raw. The leaves are used as a vegetable.
Uses animal food charcoal environmental use fuel material medicinal social use tea wood
Edible fruits leaves
Therapeutic use Construction (unspecified), Fuel (unspecified), Pleurisy (unspecified), Rope (unspecified), Hail (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

It is easily grown from fresh seeds. It is best to collect seeds from the tree as they are less likely to be damaged by insects. Seeds germinate within 8-30 days.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Celtis africana leaf picture by Jasper Coetzee (cc-by-sa)
Celtis africana leaf picture by tembela paqula (cc-by-sa)
Celtis africana leaf picture by PercyWarX Videos (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Celtis africana world distribution map, present in Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Mayotte, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, eSwatini, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:850978-1
WFO ID wfo-0000593393
COL ID S4LN
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 807235
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Celtis burmanni Celtis henriquezii Celtis holtzii Celtis kraussiana Celtis vesiculosa Celtis opegrapha Celtis eriantha Celtis africana