Our future fruiters
Ficus vallis-choudae
Ficus vallis-choudae Delile
synonyms
Ficus schweinfurthii Miquel
Sycomorus shimperiana Miquel
Local names: Baya: ndong-Haoussa: doulou-Kapsiki: bempé-Képéré: pogara-
Origin, geographical distribution and ecology
Species from tropical Africa, from Senegal to Cameroon, from Sudan to Ethiopia and Malawi. It is found in Cameroon in forest galleries, Sudano-Sahelian, Sudanian, Sudano-Guinean and peri-forest savannas.
Description
Shrub or small tree up to 8 m tall, with well developed, spreading crown and short stem; bark gray brown, slightly fissured and a little scaly, pink slice exuding a white latex scanty.
Leaves simple, alternate, coriaceous; oval blades up to 20 x 22 cm, with smooth upper surface; petiole up to 8 cm long; stipules 1-3 cm long, deciduous.
Solitary, axillary figs, globose, a little flattened at the apex; yellowish with a dozen reddish meridian stripes.
Variability and conservation of the resource
F. vallis-choudae belongs to the Moraceae family. The other four Ficus species with edible but rarely consumed figs are: F. ingens (Miq.) Miquel, F. lutea Vahl (F. F. vogelii), F. thonningii Blume (F. dekdekena), F. Baker trichopoda, and Ficus sycomorus subsp. Gnaphalocarpa (Mic.) C. C. Berg. The fruits are solitary figs in the axils of the leaves. Germination in natural conditions is very slow and random. Cuttings are easy as in most species of the Moraceae family.
uses
The most common parts of Ficus vallis-choudae are fruit, bark and wood.
The fruit pulp is edible and very popular with children. Bark was once used as a fabric (Vivien and Faure 1995, Carriere 2000). The wood is used for the manufacture of household utensils, mortars, water containers, canoes, balafons etc. (Ruffo et al., 2002).
synonyms
Ficus schweinfurthii Miquel
Sycomorus shimperiana Miquel
Local names: Baya: ndong-Haoussa: doulou-Kapsiki: bempé-Képéré: pogara-
Origin, geographical distribution and ecology
Species from tropical Africa, from Senegal to Cameroon, from Sudan to Ethiopia and Malawi. It is found in Cameroon in forest galleries, Sudano-Sahelian, Sudanian, Sudano-Guinean and peri-forest savannas.
Description
Shrub or small tree up to 8 m tall, with well developed, spreading crown and short stem; bark gray brown, slightly fissured and a little scaly, pink slice exuding a white latex scanty.
Leaves simple, alternate, coriaceous; oval blades up to 20 x 22 cm, with smooth upper surface; petiole up to 8 cm long; stipules 1-3 cm long, deciduous.
Solitary, axillary figs, globose, a little flattened at the apex; yellowish with a dozen reddish meridian stripes.
Variability and conservation of the resource
F. vallis-choudae belongs to the Moraceae family. The other four Ficus species with edible but rarely consumed figs are: F. ingens (Miq.) Miquel, F. lutea Vahl (F. F. vogelii), F. thonningii Blume (F. dekdekena), F. Baker trichopoda, and Ficus sycomorus subsp. Gnaphalocarpa (Mic.) C. C. Berg. The fruits are solitary figs in the axils of the leaves. Germination in natural conditions is very slow and random. Cuttings are easy as in most species of the Moraceae family.
uses
The most common parts of Ficus vallis-choudae are fruit, bark and wood.
The fruit pulp is edible and very popular with children. Bark was once used as a fabric (Vivien and Faure 1995, Carriere 2000). The wood is used for the manufacture of household utensils, mortars, water containers, canoes, balafons etc. (Ruffo et al., 2002).
