🌳 Tree
ANX-TREE-0000010
African Cherry
Prunus africana
African Cherry (Prunus africana), a medicinal, timber tree of the Rosaceae family.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Tree type
- Medicinal, Timber
- Mature height (m)
- 10-30
- Growth rate
- Slow to medium
- Lifespan (years)
- 100+
- Native region
- Afromontane regions of Africa.
Environment
Growing Conditions
- Climate requirements
- Afromontane forest zones, typically 1500-3000m altitude with high rainfall.
- Soil types
- Deep, fertile, well-drained forest soils.
- Water requirements
- Moderate to high; grows naturally in moist montane forest.
Cultivation
Planting & Care
- Planting guide
- Grown from seed or wildings; increasingly cultivated on-farm in agroforestry systems to relieve pressure on wild populations.
- Care guide
- Bark harvesting (for medicinal extract) must be done carefully in partial strips to avoid killing the tree; overharvesting of wild trees has driven population decline.
Phenology
Flowering & Fruiting
- Flowering season
- Small white flowers in clusters
- Fruiting season
- Small reddish-black cherry-like fruit
Value
Uses & Economic Importance
- Uses
- Bark extract is used internationally in medicine for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH); also valued for durable timber.
- Economic importance
- A globally traded medicinal-bark species; wild populations are protected (CITES-listed and IUCN Vulnerable) due to historical overharvesting, driving interest in cultivated on-farm sources.
Trade
Marketplace
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