Agroforestree Database

Local names:
 Afrikaans (grysappel), Bemba (mupundu), Chichewa (muula), English (hissing tree,mbola plum,mobola plum,fever tree), French (pobéguin,Mendonça), Lozi (mubula), Luganda (munazi), Lunda (mucha), Ndebele (umkhuna), Nyanja (mbula,mpundu), Portuguese (muchacha

Parinari curatellifolia is a large, evergreen, spreading tree up to 20 m tall with a single bare stem and a dense, roundish to mushroom-shaped crown; bark dark grey and rough; young shoots densely covered with yellow woolly hairs.

Leaves alternate, simple, elliptic to oblong, 3-8 x 2-4 cm, leathery, dark green on top, finely velvety when young but losing these hairs later, densely hairy and grey to yellow underside; apex broadly tapering, often notched; base square; margin entire; petiole short.

Flowers small, white and sweet scented, in short, branched heads or panicles, 4-6 cm in diameter, in leaf axils; stalks and calyces densely covered with yellowish, woolly hairs; bisexual; sepals 5; petals 5; stamens 7 or more, joined at the base in a short ring inserted in the mouth of the receptacle; ovary 2 chambered.

Fruit oval to round, up to 5 x 3.5 cm, russet-yellow to greyish, scaly and pitted, becoming orange-yellow when ripe.

Parinari is the vernacular name for a Brazilian species; the specific name means ‘with leaves like those of Curatella’, a West Indian and South American genus belonging to the Dilleniaceae family; often called the hissing tree because the bark makes a sort of hissing noise when cut with an axe.

Ecology

The sclerophyllous species is never truly gregarious; grows naturally in open, deciduous woodland, especially brachystegia woodland, extending to its upper limits and then scattered in upland grassland; often persisting in cultivated land and present in secondary bushland; Throughout the greater part of its range it is a species of woodland and wooded grassland, both edaphic and secondary; occurs in varying climatic regimes and is particularly common near rivers and in areas of poor drainage. It is sensitive to frost and cold wind. In Zambia it is often considered an indicator of a high watertable and is often left in fields. P. curatellifolia can tolerate small concentrations of copper in the soil.

Native range
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe

Tree management

Transplanted into the field or garden after 2 years; care needs to be taken when transferring the seedlings because the taproot damages easily; young plants can be planted in groups of 10 or more, as they occur in nature, and must be watered until they are established; plants grow quite fast; coppice shoots are produced on felled trees. P. curatellifolia does not have an invasive root system, and root suckers are produced after root wounding.

Seed storage behaviour is orthodox; viability can be retained for over 2 years. There are 250-350 seeds/kg.

The sclerophyllous species is never truly gregarious; grows naturally in open, deciduous woodland, especially brachystegia woodland, extending to its upper limits and then scattered in upland grassland; often persisting in cultivated land and present in secondary bushland; Throughout the greater part of its range it is a species of woodland and wooded grassland, both edaphic and secondary; occurs in varying climatic regimes and is particularly common near rivers and in areas of poor drainage. It is sensitive to frost and cold wind. In Zambia it is often considered an indicator of a high watertable and is often left in fields. P. curatellifolia can tolerate small concentrations of copper in the soil.

The species regenerates naturally from seed, coppice and suckers; most of the trees and young regeneration seen in the field originate from root suckers. Seed lying on the ground is nearly always parasitized, so fresh seeds should be collected from the trees.

The seeds of P. curatellifolia rarely germinate artificially even with pretreatment, due most likely to its hard seed coat. If immersed in boiling water for 15 minutes, allowed to cool and then soaked for 24 hours the seed could still take up to 6 months to germinate. Potted stock raised in the nursery could be planted in the field where partial clearing has been carried out. Regeneration inducement from root suckers could be a feasible technique in areas where the species is semi-cultivated on farmland.

  The fruit has a pleasant tasting, yellow flesh of which 88.2% is carbohydrate; it contains vitamin C. The fruit may be eaten raw or made into a porridge. A delicious syrup is prepared from it that provides the basis of a refreshing, non-alcoholic drink. Seeds are pounded and used for making soup; they can also be eaten and make a passable substitute for almonds.

Game and cattle browse both leaves and fruits; the fruit is used as bait to trap animals such as antelopes.

Apiculture:  The tree produces abundant nectar and pollen, which makes it popular with honey farmers.

P. curatellifolia gives good charcoal.

Timber:  The wood is pink-brown in colour, with a featureless grain scored by many narrow pores, which show up well on the flat or tangential surfaces. It is hard and moderately heavy (720 kg/m³).  P. curatellifolia is borer proof and, although not durable if left exposed to weather, it has been used fairly extensively for rafters, beams, poles, benches, building mortars, railway sleepers, canoes and mine timber. However, it contains silica crystals that make it difficult to work, as they very rapidly blunt saw blades and other tools.

Shade or shelter:  P. curatellifolia is a neat, compact shade tree for the average garden.

Tannin or dyestuff:  An extract from the bark is used in tanning. A pink-brown dye used in basket work is extracted from the bark. Leaves are also used for dyeing.

Lipids:  Seed kernel has a high oil content (37.75%); it is used for paints, varnishes and printing and engraving inks.

Medicine:  A hot fomentation of the bark is used in the treatment of pneumonia. A leaf decoction is either drunk or used in a bath as a fever remedy. Crushed or pulped leaves are used in a dressing for fractures or dislocations, and for wounds, sores and cuts.

Ornamental:  A good tree to grow in orchards or in homegardens.

Soil improver:  The high content of cellulose limits the use of the oil cake. However, it could be used as manure.

Alcohol:  The fruits are made into an intoxicating liquor.