Talk:Irvingia

Move/split

Oops. I moved the current Irvingia gabonensis from this title, thinking it would preserve the history. Over the long term history of that article, it focused on the genus (with emphasis on I. gabonensis). Recently, a large amount of information about I. gabonensis was added and some genus related content (species list) was deleted. I may not have maintained the edit history perfectly, but a split was needed.Plantdrew (talk) 03:17, 5 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Irvingia Seed

For the plant genus authored by Ferdinand von Mueller, see 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, bush mango, dika or ogbono. They bear edible mango-like fruits, and are especially valued for their fat- and protein-rich nuts.

The fruit is a large drupe, with fibrous flesh. 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 trees yield a hard wood, useful in construction.