Adenanthera mantaroa (PROTA)

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Introduction

List of species

General importance
Geographic coverage Africa
Geographic coverage World
Timber

Adenanthera mantaroa Villiers

Protologue: Bull. Mus. natl. Hist. nat., sect. B, Adansonia 16: 227 (1995).

Family: Mimosaceae (Leguminosae - Mimosoideae)

Origin and geographic distribution

Adenanthera mantaroa is endemic to Madagascar, where it occurs in the northern and eastern parts.

Uses

The wood is used locally for construction and canoes.

Description

• Medium-sized to fairly large tree up to 30 m tall; bole straight, up to 100 cm in diameter; bark scaly, reddish brown; young branches sparsely pubescent.
• Leaves alternate, bipinnately compound with (3–)4–6 pairs of pinnae, these alternate to opposite; stipules triangular, c. 2 mm long, caducous; petiole (2.5–)4–9 cm long, rachis (4–)6–22 cm long, grooved and slightly pubescent above; leaflets 11–15 per pinna, alternate, shortly stalked, oblong to broadly elliptical, up to 3 cm × 1.5 cm, rounded at base and apex, almost glabrous.
• Inflorescence an axillary raceme (5–)10–20 cm long, many-flowered.
• Flowers bisexual, regular, 5-merous, yellow; pedicel 2–4 mm long, with joint near base; calyx shortly obconical, 1.5–2 mm long, glabrous, with short lobes; petals free, elliptical, 3–4 mm long, reflexed; stamens 10, free, anthers with a stalked gland at apex; ovary superior, shortly stalked, narrowly oblong, glabrous, style c. 3.5 mm long.
• Fruit a narrowly oblong to linear and sickle-shaped pod (10–)20–30 cm × 1.5 cm, flattened, stalked, with thickened margins, glabrous, yellowish, silky, dehiscent with 2 valves, up to 15-seeded.
• Seeds flattened ellipsoid, 8–11 mm × 6–8 mm, black in the lower part and red-orange in the upper part.

Other botanical information

Adenanthera comprises about 12 species, which are all indigenous to tropical Asia and northern Australia, except Adenanthera mantaroa. Two species are occasionally planted as an ornamental and roadside tree in tropical Africa: Adenanthera microsperma Teijsm. & Binn. and Adenanthera pavonina L. The latter species occurs occasionally naturalized in Madagascar; it differs in its leaflets that are pubescent below and in its completely red mature seeds.

Ecology

Adenanthera mantaroa occurs in evergreen forest up to 1100 m altitude. It is found on lateritic soils.

Genetic resources

In general Adenanthera mantaroa is uncommon, but it is locally abundant, e.g. around the Bay of Antongil.

Prospects

Very little is known about this recently described species. In view of its scattered occurrence and restricted distribution, harvesting the timber from wild stands should be discouraged. Planting experiments may clarify the possibilities as a plantation timber. The wood properties should be investigated and might be good, as is the case with several Asiatic Adenanthera species.

Major references

• du Puy, D.J., Labat, J.N., Rabevohitra, R., Villiers, J.-F., Bosser, J. & Moat, J., 2002. The Leguminosae of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 750 pp.

Other references

• Villiers, J.-F., 1995. Une nouvelle espèce du genre Adenanthera L. (Leguminosae, Mimosoideae) à Madagascar. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 4e série, 16, section B, Adansonia ( 2–4): 227–230.`.

Author(s)

• R.H.M.J. Lemmens, PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Lemmens, R.H.M.J., 2006. Adenanthera mantaroaVilliers. In: Louppe, D., Oteng-Amoako, A.A. & Brink, M. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. Accessed 6 March 2025.

• See the Prota4U database.