Casearia barteri

Central African Plants

Central African Plants

NAME:  Casearia barteri

FAMILY: Samydaceae 

COMMON NAMES: nzema punum, akpanọ-ẹzẹ

LOCAL NAMES:  Ukpakuzon

MORPHORLOGICAL DESCRIPTION:

A shrub or tree plant growing to about 20 -40 m in height and mostly found in swamp forest

USEFUL PART(s):   Stem, twig, bark

GENERAL USES:

  •   Stem are used as chew-sticks

  •   Fruits are used as a fish poison

  • Leaves are used in preparing Burundi decoctions which are drunk against fever and madness

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION:

Nigeria, Sudan, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone

WHY IS IT GREEN?

  • Toothache

  • Oral hygiene

  • Fever   

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

It's habitat provides shelter for endangered and threatened species like alligator.

FUN FACT

It's mostly found in rainforest, swampy, flooded, half deciduous and secondary forests

FURTHER READINGS

Breteler, F.J., 2008. A synopsis of Casearia Jacq. (Samydeae – Salicaceae) in West and Central Africa with a description of a new species from Eastern Congo (Kinshasa). Kew Bulletin 63: 101–112.

http://congotrees.rbge.org.uk/species/details/casearia-barteri

https://plants.jstor.org/compilation/casearia.barteri