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Irvingia gabonensis
Also called Dikabread Tree, Dikanut, Dikanut Tree, Rainy Season Bush Mango, Sweet Bush Mango, African Mango
Irvingia gabonensis is a large African forest tree grown mainly for its edible fruit and fatty seeds (dika nuts). It is grown in the humid tropics, and its key to success is patience, since trees can take years to fruit and seed germination is poor.
Irvingia gabonensis is a species of African trees in the genus Irvingia, sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, or bush mango. They bear edible mango-like fruits, and are especially valued for their fat- and protein-rich nuts.
In the past, 90% of African bush mango products were harvested from scattered, wild trees. African bush mango trees were not cultivated initially, because it was believed, that it took up to 15 years for a tree to bear fruit. Although they were not artificially planted, their occurrence was high because they were also rarely harvested for timber. In a plantation using marcots (air-layering plants), flower production was observed within two to four years after planting.
Germination from seeds is low and when they are not handled appropriately, most fail. The seeds are mostly extracted by breaking fruits by hand.
Irvingia gabonensis is indigenous to the humid forest zone from the northern tip of Angola, including Congo, DR Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and south-western Uganda. Since 2009, the Gabonese government has prohibited logging of the andok tree until 2034.
The fruits are often eaten fresh by humans and other mammals such as monkeys, gorillas, elephants and many more. As it is naturally and predominantly found in parts of Africa, it has been popularly called African mango. The fruits are processed into jelly, jam, juice and sometimes even wine. The pulp has also been used to prepare black dye for cloth coloration.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Irvingia gabonensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
