Region: west tropical Africa, Liberia to Central African Republic, south to Gabon and Congo.
Habitat: evergreen or deciduous, primary forest; riverine or seasonally flooded; elevations from near sea level to 400 metres.
Content: seeds contain about 50% oil, fatty acid composition: myristic acid 1%, palmitic acid 26%, stearic acid 6%, arachidic acid 0.5%, oleic acid 33.5% and linoleic acid 32.5%
Use: oil extracted from the seeds is used for cooking; seeds eaten after cooking; pounded seeds are added to sauces, soup, stews, like
Irvingia gabonensis; medicine; wood for timber, carpentry, making canoes.
BotanySlow-growing, understorey, evergreen tree; dense crown; 10 - 20 metres, some specimens to 35 metres
Stem: irregular bole; 40 - 100 cm in diameter; clear for up to 8 metres; somewhat fluted at the base when large, sometimes with short narrow buttresses up to 1 metre tall; wood brownish yellow to pinkish red, moderately hard, irregular grain, fine texture.
Fruits: persist on the tree for several months.
Seed: case is hard to crack; nutty flavour