Annickia polycarpa is a small to medium-sized tree found in evergreen forests of West and Central Africa, it is within the Annonaceae family. It is also called the African Yellow wood.
| Annickia polycarpa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Magnoliales |
| Family: | Annonaceae |
| Genus: | Annickia |
| Species: | A. polycarpa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Annickia polycarpa (DC.) Setten & Maas ex I.M.Turner
| |
Description edit
Annickia polycarpa is a small to medium-sized tree capable of reaching 20 meters tall and 40 cm in diameter.[1][2] Bark is usually smooth and occasionally, somewhat rough, fairly thick, with fibrous inner bark, black to greenish in color.[2] Petiole is sparsely pubescent, 3–8 mm long; leaf-blade is oblong, elliptical or obovate in outline with a papery surface, 5–27 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, acuminate at the apex and rounded at the base, covered with stellate hairs below.[1] Solitary flowers on young shoots, pedicel is 0.9-1.9 cm long; sepal: three, triangular shaped, pubescent on the outside, inside is slightly pubescent, petals: yellow when fresh, elliptic in outline, up to 3 cm long.[1] Flowering season is between July and August.
Distribution edit
Commonly occurs in the forest regions of West and Central Africa, from Sierra Leone to Cameroon; in Ivory Coast, it grows as an understorey in dense forests.[3]
Chemistry edit
Bark extracts shows presence of quinolic and isoquinolic class of alkaloids; compounds extracted from leaves and bark of the species have been reported to contain corydaldine, aporphinoids, berberines and protoberberine groups of alkaloids, .[4]
Uses edit
Bark extracts are used by herbalists in traditional treatment of malaria related symptoms, ulcers and leprous spots.[4] Stem bark is used for constructing huts, and a yellow dye obtained from the species is used for dyeing cloths, mats and leather.[3][2][5]
References edit
- ^ a b c Versteegh, Corstiaen P. C.; Sosef, Marc S. M. (2007). "Revision of the African Genus Annickia (Annonaceae)". Systematics and Geography of Plants. 77 (1): 91–118. ISSN 1374-7886. JSTOR 20649730.
- ^ a b c Timbers 2. R.H.M.J. Lemmens, D. Louppe. Wageningen: PROTA Foundation. 2012. ISBN 978-92-9081-495-5. OCLC 808216267.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b Yapi, Thierry Acafou; Ouattara, Zana Adama; Boti, Jean Brice; Tonzibo, Zanahi Félix; Paoli, Mathieu; Bighelli, Ange; Casanova, Joseph; Tomi, Félix (2018). "Composition and Chemical Variability of Enantia polycarpa Engl . & Diels Leaf Essential Oil from Côte d'Ivoire". Chemistry & Biodiversity. 15 (7): e1800061. doi:10.1002/cbdv.201800061. PMID 29754407. S2CID 21672436.
- ^ a b Anosa, George N.; Udegbunam, Rita I.; Okoro, Josephine O.; Okoroafor, Obianuju N. (2014-04-28). "In vivo antimalarial activities of Enantia polycarpa stem bark against Plasmodium berghei berghei in mice". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 153 (2): 531–534. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2014.02.022. ISSN 0378-8741. PMID 24561382.
- ^ Dalziel, J.M. (1926). "African Leather Dyes". Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information. 6 (6). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: 230. doi:10.2307/4118651. JSTOR 4118651.