WorldFloraDB - Christiana africana

Characteristics

Tree or shrub 3–14 m tall (see note) with spreading crown and brown-tomentose branchlets; bark brown, rough, ± fissured.. Leaves ovate to oblong, 6–41 cm long, 5–28 cm wide, acuminate at the apex, cordate at the base, ± 7-nerved, entire or slightly wavy or largest leaves rarely with one lateral lobe on each side, glabrous or sparsely stellate-puberulous above, stellate-pubescent beneath; petiole 2.5–26 cm long; stipules filiform, ± 6 mm long.. Inflorescences many-flowered, up to 22 cm long, tomentose; peduncle 5–13 cm long; pedicels 2–5 mm long; bracts filiform, 4–6 mm long.. Buds densely tomentose outside; calyx-lobes ovate, 3 mm long; petals white, oblong-spathulate, 5–7 mm long, 2–3.5 mm wide, glabrous.. Follicles 8.5–13 mm long, brown-tomentose; seeds 6 mm long, 5.5 mm wide.. Fig. 1.

More

A low spreading tree. It grows to 12 m high. The trunk is 1 m across. The crown is spreading. The bark is grey and cracked. The small branches are reddish-brown. They have short hairs. The leaves are large and heart shaped. They are 12-30 cm long by 8-32 cm wide. They are broadly oval. They are heart shaped at the base and taper to the tip. The leaf stalk is 3.5-12 cm long. The flowers are white and have a scent. The occur in stalked clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit consist of 1-5 separate parts. These are brown and velvety. The fruit splits into 2 boat shaped pieces. The seed is marbled.

Tree, to 40 ft. high, with spreading crown

Life form	perennial
Growth form	tree
Growth support	free-standing
Foliage retention	deciduous
Sexuality	-
Pollination	-
Spread	-
Mature width (meter)	1.0
Mature height (meter)	11.0 - 12.1
Root system	-
Rooting depth (meter)	-
Root diameter (meter)	-
Flower color
Blooming months	-
Fruit color	-
Fruiting months	-
Nitrogen fixer	-
Photosynthetic pathway	c3

Environment

An understorey tree of evergreen and deciduous forest; transition and fringing forest; along stream; often in wet places, mainly in the drier parts of the forest regions; degraded forest (Kenya); at elevations from 100-1,000 metres.

More

It is a tropical plant. It grows along the edges of streams. It is often in the drier parts of the forest zone. It can be on the edges of mangroves. It can be in seasonally flooded forest.

Often by streams, mainly in the drier parts of the forest regions.

Light	-
Soil humidity	-
Soil texture	-
Soil acidity	-
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

Uses	material medicinal wood
Edible	leaves
Therapeutic use	-
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-