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Family:
Sapotaceae
Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Asterids > Order: Ericales
Genera native or naturalised (*) in southern Africa
List from Bredenkamp (2000).
Chrysophyllum About 80
species, most of them in the Neotropics but also found in Africa,
Madagascar, Asia and Australia. The only species native to southern Africa
is Chrysophyllum viridifolium. |
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Englerophytum (= Bequaertiodendron) About 5-10 species, native to tropical Africa, with 2 species in
southern Africa. |
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Inhambanella Two species,
one in West Africa, and the other, Inhambanella henriquesii,
in East and southern Africa. |
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Manilkara About 70
species, distributed in the tropics, with 4 species in southern Africa. |
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Mimusops About 40 species,
found in Africa, Madagascar, Mascarenes, Seychelles, Asia and the Pacific.
There are 3 species native to southern Africa. |
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Sideroxylon About 75
species, widely distributed but with most species (49) in the Neotropics.
The only species native to southern Africa is Sideroxylon inerme
(White
Milkwood). |
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Vitellariopsis Six
species, native to East and southern Africa with 2 species in southern
Africa |
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Exotic genera cultivated in
southern Africa
List from Glen (2002). The species name is provided in
genera that have only one species represented in southern Africa.
Pouteria Four
species cultivated. |
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Argania spinosa (Argan tree)
Indigenous to Morocco and Algeria. Bears hard, green olive-like fruit within
which is a single seed. Argan oil is cold-pressed from the seeds and is used
in a similar way to olive oil (e.g. cooking, frying, in salads). Argan oil
is also used as a carrier oil to dilute essential oils used in aromotherapy,
and is also used in cosmetics (van Wyk 2005). |
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Publications
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Bredenkamp, C.L. 2000. Sapotaceae. In: Seed Plants of
Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 506-508.
National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
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Glen, H.F. 2002. Cultivated Plants of
Southern Africa. Jacana, Johannesburg.
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van Wyk, B.-E. 2005. Food Plants of the World -
Identification, Culinary Uses and Nutritional Value. Briza, Pretoria.
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