Strychnos innocua (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007)
From PlantUse English
| Strychnos innocua (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007) |
Strychnos innocua Loganiaceae Indigenous
Common names
- Agnuakgna: Adiiquala leach
- Amargna: Inguachia, Merenz, Amburqa
- Gumuzgna: Oola
- Sahogna: Oola
- Somaligna: Mungule
- Tigrigna: Unguaka, Unguak-hebay
Ecology
Found nearby in Uganda and more rarely in Kenya, from West Africa east to Ethiopia and south to Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. In Ethiopia, it is a shrubby tree which occurs in open woodland and on rocky hills in Moist and Wet Weyna Dega agroclimatic zones in Gojam, Ilubabor, Kefa, and Sidamo, 600 – 1,100 m.
Uses
Food (fruit), firewood, local tools, flavouring (additive to local brew).
Description
A shrub or small straight‑stemmed tree, usually 3–6 m and some times upto 10 m, without spines. Branches are often twisted and branchlets hang down.
- BARK: Pale grey, smooth. Branchlets powdery grey‑green to yellow‑brown.
- LEAVES: In opposite pairs, widely spaced apart, tough, dull blue‑green, with 3–5 main veins and clear net veining, both sides similar, oblong but wider at the rounded tip, 4–10 cm long.
- FLOWERS: 8 mm long, green‑cream, 2–4 in stalked clusters beside leaves, calyx shorter than petals, a ring of white hairs in the throat.
- FRUIT: Round, with a thick woody shell, about 5–7 cm across, blue‑green ripening yellow‑orange, containing many seeds in pulp.
Propagation
Seedlings and wildings
Seed
- Treatment: Soak the fruit in cold water for 24 hours and water for 24 hours and macerate the flesh.
- Storage: Can store well for one year in an air-tight container kept in cold place.
Management
Stem reduction, pruning.
Remarks
It makes excellent firewood that burns even without drying. Seeds are loved by seed borer insects.
