Xylopia aethiopica
| Xylopia aethiopica | |
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| Ethiopian-pepper | |
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| Species: | X. aethiopica |
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| Xylopia aethiopica[1] | |
Xylopia aethiopica is an evergreen, aromatic tree, growing up to 20m high. It is a native to the lowland rainforest and moist fringe forests in the savanna zones of Africa.
The dried fruits of X. aethiopica (Grains of Selim) are used as a spice and a traditional medicine.
Etymology
Xylopia is a compression from Greek ξυλον πικρον (xylon pikron) meaning "bitter wood", aethiopica refers to the origin of the tree, though currently most of it grows in Ghana.
References
- ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) (1985-11-07). "Taxon: Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich" (HTML). Taxonomy for Plants. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
- CRC Handbook of African Medicinal Plants, by Maurice M. Iwu, CRC-Press. ISBN 0-8493-4266-X
- Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages [1] (accessed October 26 2005)
See also
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