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<big>''[[Barteria fistulosa]]'' Mast.</big>
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Barteria fistulosa'' (PROTA)}}
:Protologue: Oliv., Fl. trop. Afr. 2: 511 (1871).
:Family: Passifloraceae
== Synonyms ==
*''Barteria nigritana'' Hook.f. subsp. ''fistulosa'' (Mast.) Sleumer (1974).
== Vernacular names ==
*Arbre à fourmis (Fr).
== Origin and geographic distribution ==
The stem bark of ''Barteria fistulosa'' contains large amounts of flavones, while the leaves and roots contain traces. The bark furthermore contains a trace of saponins, the bark and root contain tannins and the leaves, bark and root contain traces of hydrocyanic acid. The cyanogenic glycoside barterioside has been isolated from the root bark.
== Botany Description ==
Small tree up to 13 m tall with deep taproot; branches horizontal, hollow over their full length, smooth or with lenticels, greyish. Leaves distichously alternate, simple, almost entire; stipules absent; petiole short, thickened; blade oblong to obovate-oblong, 20–42 cm × 6–19 cm, base decurrent into the petiole, forming a raised line on both sides of the stem, apex apiculate, leathery, glabrous. Inflorescence an axillary fascicle, often horseshoe-shaped, (2–)6–9-flowered; bracts numerous, oblong, apex rounded to obtuse, overlapping, shiny, chestnut-coloured, increasing in size from below upwards. Flowers bisexual, regular, 5-merous; sessile; sepals fused at base, oblong to lanceolate, c. 3 cm × 1 cm, overlapping, wavy at the margins, silky and downy outside, white; petals similar to the sepals, but slightly larger and glabrous; corona double, the outer membranous, about half the length of the petals, jagged at the edge, inner much smaller, consisting of a ring of thick, fleshy tubercles; stamens numerous, c. 3 cm long, filaments fused at base, anthers linear-oblong; ovary superior, globose, 1-celled, style thick, stigma large, mushroom-shaped. Fruit a leathery, ellipsoid indehiscent berry 3–3.5 cm × 2–2.5 cm, many-seeded. Seeds ovoid, compressed, coarsely pitted, with pulpy aril.
''Barteria'' comprises 4 species, which all occur in tropical Africa. ''Barteria fistulosa'' houses large, aggressive ants (''Tetraponera'' spp.). ''Barteria nigritana'' Hook.f. and ''Barteria dewevrei'' De Wild. & T.Durand house small ants in their hollow branches, while ''Barteria solida'' Breteler does not house any ants. In Nigeria ''Barteria fistulosa'' fruits in March on trees more than 8 m tall (more than 10 years old). The seeds are dispersed by birds and small mammals. Seedlings occur in heavy shade and produce the first hollow, horizontal branches when 1–1.5 m tall; these are colonized by ants. The growth rate is 50–100 cm per year, and the tree dies after 15–30 reproductive seasons, at which time the crown is high enough to be exposed to broken sunlight.
In Cameroon the Baka people use ''[[Barteria nigritana]]'' to treat anaemia and toothache and in Congo the Kouilou and Mayombe people use the bark to treat wounds, scabies and itch. After a wash with the decoction, the affected area is dusted with powdered bark.
== Ecology ==
== Author(s) ==
* A. de Ruijter , PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands
== Correct citation of this article ==
de Ruijter, A., 2007. '''Barteria fistulosa''' Mast. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. In: Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>. Accessed {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}.
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[[Category:PROTA prov]][[Category:Medicinal plants (PROTA)]]