Deinbollia pynaertii (PROTA)

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Introduction

List of species

General importance
Geographic coverage Africa
Geographic coverage World
Fruit
Fibre
Food security
Conservation status

Deinbollia pynaertii De Wild.

Protologue: Ann. Mus. Congo., Bot., sér. 5, 3: 111 (1909).

Family: Sapindaceae

Origin and geographic distribution

Deinbollia pynaertii is endemic to DR Congo.

Uses

The bark is used for making straps, and the pulp of the fruits is locally eaten.

Botany

Monoecious, single-stemmed, small tree up to 3–4 m tall; bole up to 12 cm in diameter. Leaves alternate, paripinnately compound with 6–11 pairs of leaflets, up to 1 m long, glabrous; petiole 10–20 cm long; rachis 20–50 cm long, grooved; petiolules 3–5 mm long; leaflets alternate or subopposite, oblong-elliptical or ovate, 8–35 cm × 4–15 cm, margin entire. Inflorescence a much branched panicle, axillary or terminal, up to 45 cm × 20 cm. Flowers unisexual; pedicel 1.5 mm long; sepals 5, with white hairs on outside, free, imbricate; petals 5, white, 3–4 mm long, margin long ciliate; stamens c. 14, 4–5 mm long in male flowers, 2 mm long in female ones; ovary superior, 1 mm in diameter and 3-lobed in female flowers, absent in male flowers. Fruit an indehiscent capsule, 10–14 mm in diameter, orange, 1-seeded. Seedling with hypogeal germination; first 2 leaves opposite.

The genus Deinbollia is restricted to sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar and comprises 30–40 species. Many of the taller species are used as sources of timber.

Ecology

Deinbollia pynaertii is found in dense upland forest and swamp forest.

Prospects

There apparently is little interest in Deinbollia pynaertii and the plant will probably remain of local importance only.

Major references

• Hauman, L., 1960. Sapindaceae. 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 9. Institut National pour l’Étude Agronomique du Congo belge, Brussels, Belgium. pp. 279–384.

• Martin, F.W., Campbell, C.W. & Ruberté, R.M., 1987. Perennial edible fruits of the tropics: an inventory. Agriculture Handbook No 642. USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Washington D.C., United States. 247 pp.

Other references

• de Wildeman, E., 1919. Additions à la Flore du Congo II. Bulletin du Jardin botanique de l’État a Bruxelles 5(3): 269–364.

• Fouilloy, R. & Hallé, N., 1973. Sapindacées. Flore du Cameroun. Volume 16. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. 202 pp.

Author(s)

• C.H. Bosch, PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Bosch, C.H., 2011. Deinbollia pynaertii De Wild. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. Brink, M. & Achigan-Dako, E.G. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>.

Accessed 31 March 2025.

• See the Prota4U database.