Cavacoa quintasii (PROTA)

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Introduction

List of species

General importance
Geographic coverage Africa
Geographic coverage World
Stimulant
Timber

Cavacoa quintasii (Pax & K.Hoffm.) J.Léonard

distribution in Africa (wild)

wood in transverse section

wood in tangential section

Protologue: Bull. Jard. Bot. Etat 25(4): 322 (1955).

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Synonyms

Grossera quintasii Pax & K.Hoffm. (1912).

Origin and geographic distribution

Cavacoa quintasii occurs in São Tomé and Principe, and from Cameroon to DR Congo.

Uses

In DR Congo, the Efe and Balese people use branches of the tree to make fences around their compounds. Young Balese girls adorn themselves by putting the leaves around the waist and hips, especially for dances of the initiation rites. Scrapings from the root are smoked as a substitute for tobacco.

Properties

The wood is pale orange-brown, has a fine texture and is very hard.

Description

• Dioecious small to medium-sized tree up to 20 m tall; bole branchless for up to 8 m, deeply fluted and slightly twisted, up to 50 cm in diameter; bark surface yellowish brown, often with white marks; twigs greenish, glabrous, with whitish scars of stipules.
• Leaves alternate, simple and entire; stipules falling early; petiole 1–8 cm long; blade elliptical, sometimes obovate, up to 28 cm × 11.5 cm, cuneate at base, acuminate at apex, glabrous, with small translucent dots, pinnately veined with 8–15 pairs of lateral veins.
• Inflorescence a terminal raceme up to 10 cm long, short-hairy to glabrous; bracts broadly ovate, up to 5 mm × 8 mm, forming a cone-like structure in young inflorescences, soon falling.
• Flowers unisexual, regular, (4–)5-merous; male flowers with 1–2 cm long, yellowish pedicel jointed near base, calyx splitting into 2 broadly ovate lobes c. 5 mm long, whitish, petals free, elliptical to oblong, 6–9 mm long, yellowish, stamens many, disk glands whitish; female flowers with stout, 5–8 mm long pedicel, sepals free, ovate to oblong, 4–7 mm long, thin, yellowish green, soon falling, petals free, elliptical, 7–12 mm long, yellow, disk cupule-shaped, ovary superior, 3-lobed, styles 3, 3–4 mm long, 2-branched.
• Fruit a 3-lobed capsule 1–1.5 cm × 1.5–2 cm, glabrous, green becoming blackish, each lobe dehiscing with 2 valves and 1-seeded.
• Seeds 7–8 mm × 5–8 mm, brownish, slightly mottled.
• Seedling with epigeal germination; hypocotyl 2.5–9 cm long; cotyledons round to oblong, 2–4.5 cm long, leafy; first leaves alternate.

Other botanical information

Cavacoa comprises 3 species and is confined to Africa. It is closely related to Grossera. Cavacoa aurea (Cavaco) J.Léonard is used in southern Africa as a medicinal plant.

Ecology

Cavacoa quintasii occurs in the understorey of rainforest, usually on soils derived from schist and mica-schist.

Genetic resources

Cavacoa quintasii is locally common to abundant, and there are no indications of genetic erosion.

Prospects

Cavacoa quintasii is likely to remain of local use only because of its comparatively small and often poorly shaped bole. The tree flowers richly, spreading a pleasant fragrance, and has ornamental value.

Major references

• Léonard, J., 1962. Euphorbiaceae. In: Robyns, W., Staner, P., Demaret, F., Germain, R., Gilbert, G., Hauman, L., Homès, M., Jurion, F., Lebrun, J., Vanden Abeele, M. & Boutique, R. (Editors). Flore du Congo belge et du Ruanda-Urundi. Spermatophytes. Volume 8, 1. Institut National pour l’Étude Agronomique du Congo belge, Brussels, Belgium. 214 pp.

• Léonard, J., 1963. Contribution à la connaissance des Euphorbiacées du Cameroun. Adansonia, n.s., 3(1) : 62–77.

• Normand, D. & Paquis, J., 1976. Manuel d’identification des bois commerciaux. Tome 2. Afrique guinéo-congolaise. Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, Nogent-sur-Marne, France. 335 pp.

• Terashima, H., Ichikawa, M. & Sawada, M., 1988. Wild plant utilization of the Balese and the Efe of the Ituri Forest, the Republic of Zaire. African Study Monographs, Supplement 8. The Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. 78 pp.

• van Welzen, P.C. & Stuppy, W., 1999. Phylogenetic considerations of Euphorbiaceae tribe Aleuritideae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 86(4): 894–903.

Other references

• Schmelzer, G.H., 2008. Anthostema senegalense A.Juss. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. http://database.prota.org/search.htm. September 2010.

• Westra, L.Y.T. & Koek-Noorman, J., 2004. Wood Atlas of the Euphorbiaceae. IAWA Journal Supplement 4. IAWA & National Herbarium, Leyden, Netherlands. 110 pp.

Author(s)

• L.P.A. Oyen, PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Oyen, L.P.A., 2011. Cavacoa quintasii (Pax & K.Hoffm.) J.Léonard. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. Lemmens, R.H.M.J., Louppe, D. & Oteng-Amoako, A.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands.

Accessed 22 December 2024.

• See the Prota4U database.