Lannea

Morphological Summary

Genus of deciduous trees and shrubs in the family Anacardiaceae distributed in tropical Africa, Madagascar, and tropical Asia. Some species such as L. microcarpa (African plum) and L. acida produce edible fruits with a tart flavour highly valued in West Africa. Others inhabit island enclaves of extraordinary endemism, such as L. aspleniifolia from Socotra Island. The genus name honours Swedish naturalist Erik Acharius, although the etymology of the generic name traces back to the Arabic term for this type of tree.