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Irvingia



Irvingia

Ogbono nuts
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Irvingiaceae
Genus: Irvingia
Species

see text

 

For Irvingia F.Muell., see its synonym Polyscias.

Irvingia is a genus of African and Southeast Asian trees in the family Irvingiaceae, 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, known as ogbono, etima, odika, or dika nuts.

The subtly aromatic nuts are typically dried in the sun for preservation, and are sold whole or in powder form. They may be ground to a paste known variously as dika bread or Gabon chocolate. Their high content of mucilage enables them to be used as thickening agents for dishes such as ogbono soup. The nuts may also be pressed for vegetable oil.

The fruit is a large drupe, with fibrous flesh.

The trees yield a hard wood, useful in construction.

Species

  • Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry-Lecomte ex O'Rorke) Baill.
  • Irvingia malayana Oliv. ex A. W. Benn.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Irvingia". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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