Blighia
Blighia is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, native to tropical Africa from Guinea east to Kenya. The fruit is partly edible, with the Ackee (B. sapida) being grown commercially for fruit production. The genus is named for Captain William Bligh (formerly of HMS Bounty), who brought samples back to England.
| Blighia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Blighia sapida | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Sapindaceae |
| Subfamily: | Sapindoideae |
| Genus: | Blighia K.D.Koenig |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Phialodiscus Radlk. | |
The species are evergreen trees growing to 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves. The flowers are produced in small panicles. The fruit is an oval capsule 4–8 centimetres (2–3 in) long containing three seeds, each surrounded by an edible fleshy yellow aril, and a thick, leathery orange or red skin; the fruit apart from the aril is very poisonous.
Selected species
- Blighia sapida - Ackee
- Blighia unijugata
- Blighia welwitschii
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blighia.
- "Blighia K. D. Koenig". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-03-29. Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.