Details Top

Internal ID UUID643ffb9e2c458016851425
Scientific name Ximenia americana
Authority L.
First published in Sp. Pl. : 1193 (1753)

Ethnobotanical Use Top

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General Uses Top

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Common products:
- Fresh fruit, eaten directly or processed into jams, jellies and fruit pulp.
- Seed oil, expressed from kernels, used as an edible oil and evaluated as a biodiesel feedstock.

Industrial and craft applications:
- Fuelwood and charcoal production; widely used in many African regions.
- Small‑scale timber for light construction (beams, roofing), tool handles and turned wooden items.
- Bark extract used as a vegetable tanning agent in leather processing and as a natural brown dye for protein fibers.

Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
- Fruit pulp is boiled with sugar to make jam or used as a sauce for grilled fish and meat.
- Seed oil is employed as a culinary oil for frying and cooking, valued for its neutral flavor and oxidative stability.

Colorants and tanning:
- The bark yields a hydrolysable tannin extract (≈15–20 % gallotannins) that imparts a brown colour to vegetable‑tanned leather and serves as a natural brown dye for wool and silk.

Wood and fiber:
- Wood has a basic density of 0.65–0.70 g cm⁻³ and a modulus of rupture of ≈45 MPa, suitable for non‑structural construction, furniture, carving and turnery; it also serves as fuelwood.

Properties relevant to use:
- Seed oil: oleic ≈70 % of total fatty acids, iodine ≈102 g I₂ 100 g⁻¹, saponification ≈192 mg KOH g⁻¹, peroxide ≤2 meq O₂ kg⁻¹, acid

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Ximenia exarmata F.Muell. Trans. & Proc. Philos. Inst. Victoria 3: 22 (1859)
Ximenia arborescens Tussac ex Walp. Repert. Bot. Syst. 1: 377 (1842)
Ximenia subscandens Griff. Not. Pl. Asiat. 4: 691 (1854)
Ximenia oblonga Lam. ex Hemsl. Biol. Cent.-Amer., Bot. 1: 185 (1879)
Ximenia multiflora Jacq. Enum. Syst. Pl. : 19 (1760)
Ximenia montana Macfad. Fl. Jamaica 1: 121 (1837)
Ximenia inermis L. Sp. Pl. ed. 2 : 497 (1762)
Ziziphus littorea Teijsm. ex Hassk. Abh. Naturf. Ges. Halle 9: 176 (1866)
Heymassoli spinosa Aubl. Hist. Pl. Guiane 1: 324 (1775)
Ximenia aculeata Crantz Inst. Rei Herb. 2: 381 (1766)
Ximenia elliptica G.Forst. Fl. Ins. Austr. : 27 (1786)
Ximenia fluminensis M.Roem. Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr. 1: 22 (1846)
Ximenia laurina Delile Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. , sér. 2, 20: 89 (1843)
Ximenia loranthifolia Span. Linnaea 15: 177 (1841)
Ximenia rogersii Burtt Davy Man. Pl. Transvaal 2: 454 (1932)
Amyris arborescens P.Browne Civ. Nat. Hist. Jamaica 209 1756
Heymassoli inermis Aubl. Hist. Pl. Guiane 1: 324 (1775)
Ximenia americana var. ovata DC. Prodr. 1: 533 (1824)
Ximenia verrucosa M.Roem. Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr. 1: 23 (1846)
Ximenia americana f. inermis (Aubl.) Engl. Fl. Bras. (Martius) 12(2): 9. 1872 [1 Dec 1872]
Ximenia americana var. oblonga DC. Prodr. 1: 533 (1824)
Ximenia americana var. argentinensis DeFilipps Trans. Illinois State Acad. Sci. 62: 351 (1969)
Ximenia russeliana Wall. Numer. List : n.° 6784 (1832)
Ximenia gabonensis Baill. ex Laness. Pl. Util. Col. Franç. : 834 (1886)
Ximenia americana var. microphylla Welw. ex Oliv. Fl. Trop. Afr. 1: 347 (1868)
Ximenia americana var. sphaerica Chiov. Atti Reale Accad. Italia, Mem. Cl. Sci. Fis. 11: 25 (1940)
Ximenia americana var. oxypyrena Chiov. Atti Reale Accad. Italia, Mem. Cl. Sci. Fis. 11: 25 (1940)
Ximenia americana var. elliptica Valeton Crit. Overz. Olacin. : 76 (1886)
Ximenia americana var. inermis Hochst. Flora 27: 97 (1844)
Ximenia spinosa (Aubl.) Lam. ex Forsyth f. Bot. Nomencl. : 228 (1794)

Common names Top

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Language Common/alternative name
English tallow wood
Amharic እንኮይ
Bambara ntɔnkɛ
Czech ximenie americká
dag liliŋga
Persian زیمنیا امریکنا
Fulah saɓɓulere
Finnish luumupapinmarja
Hausa tsada
Malay bedara laut
Portuguese ximenia montana
Portuguese ximenia fluminensis
Portuguese ximenia arborescens
Portuguese ximenia aculeata
Portuguese ximénia
Portuguese sândalo do brasil
Portuguese omupeke
Portuguese mepeque
Portuguese mepeke
Portuguese limão-bravo-do-brejo
Portuguese limão bravo do brejo
Portuguese espinheiro de ameixa
Portuguese ameixeira do brasil
Portuguese ameixa do mato
Portuguese ameixa da terra
Russian Ксимения американская
Thai พุทราทะเล
Chinese 西门木
Chinese 山梅树
Chinese 海檀木

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

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Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

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Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

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Forms (abbr. f.) Top

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Germination/Propagation Top

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No germination or propagation data was added yet.

Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Africa
    • East Tropical Africa
      • Kenya
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
    • Macaronesia
      • Cape Verde
    • Northeast Tropical Africa
      • Chad
      • Djibouti
      • Eritrea
      • Ethiopia
      • Somalia
      • Sudan
    • South Tropical Africa
      • Angola
      • Malawi
      • Mozambique
      • Zambia
      • Zimbabwe
    • Southern Africa
      • Botswana
      • Caprivi Strip
      • Kwazulu-Natal
      • Namibia
      • Northern Provinces
      • Swaziland
    • West Tropical Africa
      • Benin
      • Burkina
      • Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea-Bissau
      • Ivory Coast
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Niger
      • Nigeria
      • Senegal
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
    • West-central Tropical Africa
      • Cameroon
      • Central African Republic
      • Congo
      • Gabon
      • Gulf Of Guinea Islands
      • Zaïre
    • Western Indian Ocean
      • Chagos Archipelago
  • Asia-tropical
    • Indian Subcontinent
      • Bangladesh
      • India
      • Sri Lanka
    • Indo-China
      • Andaman Islands
      • Myanmar
      • Nicobar Nicobar
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Malesia
      • Borneo
      • Christmas Island
      • Cocos (keeling) Islands
      • Jawa
      • Lesser Sunda Islands
      • Malaya
      • Maluku
      • Philippines
      • Sulawesi
      • Sumatera
    • Papuasia
      • Bismarck Archipelago
      • New Guinea
      • Solomon Islands
  • Northern America
    • Mexico
      • Mexico Central
      • Mexico Gulf
      • Mexico Northeast
      • Mexico Southeast
      • Mexico Southwest
    • Southeastern U.S.A.
      • Florida
  • Pacific
    • Northwestern Pacific
      • Caroline Islands
      • Marianas
      • Marshall Islands
    • South-central Pacific
      • Cook Islands
      • Line Islands
      • Society Islands
      • Tuamotu
    • Southwestern Pacific
      • Fiji
      • New Caledonia
      • Niue
      • Samoa
      • Tokelau-manihiki
      • Tonga
      • Tuvalu
      • Vanuatu
      • Wallis-Futuna Islands
  • Southern America
    • Brazil
      • Brazil North
      • Brazil Northeast
      • Brazil South
      • Brazil Southeast
      • Brazil West-central
    • Caribbean
      • Bahamas
      • Cayman Islands
      • Cuba
      • Dominican Republic
      • Haiti
      • Jamaica
      • Leeward Islands
      • Netherlands Antilles
      • Puerto Rico
      • Trinidad-Tobago
      • Turks-caicos Islands
      • Venezuelan Antilles
      • Windward Islands
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • El Salvador
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Nicaragua
      • Panamá
    • Northern South America
      • French Guiana
      • Guyana
      • Suriname
      • Venezuela
    • Southern South America
      • Argentina Northeast
      • Argentina Northwest
      • Paraguay
    • Western South America
      • Bolivia
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador

Links to other databases Top

Suggest others/fix!
Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0000428247
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:608579-1
IPNI 608579-1
GBIF 3685752
Florida Plant Atlas 2127
USDA Plants XIAM
Tropicos 22900001
INPN 447422
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:316341-2
The Plant List kew-2467228
Open Tree Of Life 1015539
Observations.org 198969
NCBI Taxonomy 50174
Nature Serve 2.157254
IUCN Red List 146188276
IPNI 316341-2
iNaturalist 83832
iNaturalist 243419
GBIF 2889811
Freebase /m/04f393c
EPPO XIMAM
EOL 582703
Elurikkus 325428
USDA GRIN 42110
Wikipedia Ximenia_americana

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

Scientific Literature Top

Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
Corchorus tridens L.: A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Nutritional Content and Pharmacological Properties Kudumela RG, Ramadwa TE, Mametja NM, Masebe TM Plants (Basel) 13-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11054996
doi:10.3390/plants13081096
PMID:38674505
Ethnobotany of traditional cosmetics among the Oromo women in Madda Walabu District, Bale Zone, Southeastern Ethiopia Sultan S, Telila H, Kumsa L J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 22-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10960478
doi:10.1186/s13002-024-00673-0
PMID:38519994
Ethnobotanical study of traditional medicinal plants used by the local Gamo people in Boreda Abaya District, Gamo Zone, southern Ethiopia Zemede J, Mekuria T, Ochieng CO, Onjalalaina GE, Hu GW J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 28-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10900619
doi:10.1186/s13002-024-00666-z
PMID:38419092
Preserving Ethnoveterinary Medicine (EVM) along the Transhumance Routes in Southwestern Angola: Synergies between International Cooperation and Academic Research Solazzo D, Moretti MV, Tchamba JJ, Rafael MF, Tonini M, Fico G, Basterrecea T, Levi S, Marini L, Bruschi P Plants (Basel) 28-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10933900
doi:10.3390/plants13050670
PMID:38475516
Ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants in Dibatie district, Metekel zone, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, western Ethiopia Anbessa B, Lulekal E, Getachew P, Hymete A J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 27-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10900549
doi:10.1186/s13002-024-00671-2
PMID:38413982
The influence of exotic and native plants on illnesses with physical and spiritual causes in the semiarid region of Piauí, Northeast of Brazil da Silva PH, Ferreira Júnior WS, Zank S, do Nascimento AL, de Abreu MC J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 26-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10895823
doi:10.1186/s13002-024-00667-y
PMID:38409039
An ethnobotanical study of wild edible fruits in miombo woodlands of Tabora region in Western Tanzania Mgalula ME J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 25-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10895781
doi:10.1186/s13002-024-00668-x
PMID:38403583
Ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and their utilization by the people of Soro District, Hadiya Zone, southern Ethiopia Hankiso M, Asfaw Z, Warkineh B, Abebe A, Sisay B, Debella A J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 22-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10885532
doi:10.1186/s13002-024-00651-6
PMID:38389077
Ethnobotanical study on medicinal plants in Melit area (North Darfur), Western Sudan Muhakr MA, Ahmed IM, El hassan GO, Yagi S J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 03-Jan-2024
PMCID:PMC10765873
doi:10.1186/s13002-023-00646-9
PMID:38172804
Molecular mechanisms of pain in acute pancreatitis: recent basic research advances and therapeutic implications Wu Y, Han C, Luo R, Cai W, Xia Q, Jiang R, Ferdek PE, Liu T, Huang W Front Mol Neurosci 22-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10771850
doi:10.3389/fnmol.2023.1331438
PMID:38188196
Mainstreaming traditional fruits, vegetables and pulses for nutrition, income, and sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa: the case for Kenya and Ethiopia Ngigi PB, Termote C, Pallet D, Amiot MJ Front Nutr 07-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10749635
doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1197703
PMID:38146328
Determinants of plant community along environmental gradients in Geramo forest, the western escarpment of the rift valley of Ethiopia Getaneh ZA, Demissew S, Woldu Z, Aynekulu E PLoS One 27-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10681247
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294324
PMID:38011089
Population structure and phenological attributes of Adansonia digitata L. (baobab) in Northwestern lowland area of Ethiopia Abere M, Yilma Z, Tsegie T, Eshete A, Alemu A Heliyon 24-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10696176
doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22571
PMID:38058453
Selection of Mexican Medicinal Plants by Identification of Potential Phytochemicals with Anti-Aging, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anti-Oxidant Properties through Network Analysis and Chemoinformatic Screening Barrera-Vázquez OS, Montenegro-Herrera SA, Martínez-Enríquez ME, Escobar-Ramírez JL, Magos-Guerrero GA Biomolecules 20-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10669844
doi:10.3390/biom13111673
PMID:38002355
Pest categorisation of Diaprepes abbreviatus Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Gonthier P, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Grégoire J, Malumphy C, Kertesz V, Maiorano A, MacLeod A EFSA J 15-Nov-2023
PMCID:PMC10648563
doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8318
PMID:38027434

Phytochemical Profile Top

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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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Name PubChem ID Canonical SMILES MW Found in Proof
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty acids and conjugates / Long-chain fatty acids
(10Z,14E,16E)-10,14,16-Octadecatrien-12-ynoic acid 10731060 Click to see 274.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/JF990550K
5-Octadecynoic acid 5312694 Click to see CCCCCCCCCCCCC#CCCCC(=O)O 280.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/JF990550K
6-Octadecynoic Acid 235711 Click to see 280.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/JF990550K
Octadeca-10,14,16-trien-12-ynoic acid 85248526 Click to see CC=CC=CC#CC=CCCCCCCCCC(=O)O 274.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/JF990550K
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty acids and conjugates / Very long-chain fatty acids
(17Z)-17-Hexacosenoic acid 5282775 Click to see 394.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/LIPI.19390461202
21-Triacontaenoic acid 54252776 Click to see CCCCCCCCC=CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)O 450.80 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/LIPI.19390461202
Hexacos-17-enoic acid 54280271 Click to see 394.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/LIPI.19390461202
Hexacosanoic Acid 10469 Click to see 396.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/LIPI.19390461202
Lumequeic acid 5282777 Click to see CCCCCCCCC=CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)O 450.80 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/LIPI.19390461202
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Triterpenoids
Beta-Amyrin 73145 Click to see CC1(CCC2(CCC3(C(=CCC4C3(CCC5C4(CCC(C5(C)C)O)C)C)C2C1)C)C)C 426.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1076/PHBI.38.5.391.5972
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Steroids and steroid derivatives / Stigmastanes and derivatives
(1R,5S,8R,9S,10S,13R,14S,17R)-17-[(2R,5R)-5-ethyl-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-1,13-dimethyl-2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17-tetradecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one 163042477 Click to see 414.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/HLCA.200800289
17-(5-ethyl-6-methylheptan-2-yl)-1,13-dimethyl-2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17-tetradecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one 163042476 Click to see CCC(CCC(C)C1CCC2C1(CCC3C2CCC4C3C(CC(=O)C4)C)C)C(C)C 414.70 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/HLCA.200800289
> Organic acids and derivatives / Carboxylic acids and derivatives / Carboxylic acids
(4aR,9aR)-1,1-dimethyl-4-methylidene-3,4a,5,8,9,9a-hexahydro-2H-benzo[7]annulene-7-carboxylic acid 25195302 Click to see CC1(CCC(=C)C2C1CCC(=CC2)C(=O)O)C 234.33 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/HLCA.200800289
1,1-dimethyl-4-methylidene-3,4a,5,8,9,9a-hexahydro-2H-benzo[7]annulene-7-carboxylic acid 74405834 Click to see CC1(CCC(=C)C2C1CCC(=CC2)C(=O)O)C 234.33 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/HLCA.200800289

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