3509.000 Afzelia Sm.

Trees with paripinnate leaves; leaflets subequal, mostly in 4−6 pairs, with distinct petiolules; flowers with enlarged red dorsal petal; pod thick, woody; seeds black cupped at base by the red or orange aril, and embedded in white pithy endosperm. At maturity the valves separate exposing the seeds for hornbills to extract.

Derivation of name: for Adam Afzelius (1750-1837), Swedish botanist and plant collector in West Africa.

Worldwide: 12 species in the Old World tropics, 2 species in the Flora Zambesiaca region, 2 species in Zambia.

Zimbabwe: 1 cultivated taxon.