21 Jun Carapa procera
Scientific name: Carapa procera DC.
Family: Meliaceae.
Distribution/conservation status: occurs in lowland rainforest, often near lakes and streams. Not assessed by the IUCN Red List.
Common names: Crabwood, Monkey kola (English), Abo-oganwo (Yoruba), Mpaoku (Igbo), Ebe-Egogo (Edo).
Fruits/seeds: brown, globose to elliptic pod, shortly beaked and with knobbly ridges, splitting when ripe into 5 segments to release 15-20 large, hard, rusty-brown, angular seeds.
Fruiting time: January – June.
Seed collection: collect fallen pods under the parent tree, prising open pods to extract seeds.
Type of seed: recalcitrant.
Sowing method: sow in nursery pots at a depth of 3cm.
Sowing medium: forest soil. Germination period: 14 days.
Germination percentage: 80%.
Growth/development: seedlings require full sun and can be planted out after 6 weeks.
Notes: observe fruit ripening and collect pods promptly or they may be damaged by insects and animals.
Carapa procera flowering. credits: D.Bown