Okoubaka is a genus of tall forest tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 native to west and central tropical Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. It consists of two species, plus a third species or variety. Its name is from the Anyin language

Anyin language

The Anyin language is spoken principally in Côte d'Ivoire and in Ghana. It is an Akan language member of the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo family of languages...

 meaning a tree with allelopathic

Allelopathy

Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial or detrimental effects on the target organisms...

 properties, or a tree that causes the death of surrounding vegetation. The tree was once common throughout West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

 and parts of Central Africa

Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

, with O. aubrevillei being the primary West African species, and O. michelsonii found in Central Africa.

O. aubrevillei was originally named Oktoknema okoubaka and placed in the Octoknemaceae

Octoknemaceae

Octoknemaceae Soler. is a family of flowering plants. The family has been recognized by few taxonomists, these plants often being included in family Olacaceae.The APG II system of 2003 , does not recognize this family....

 or Olacaceae

Olacaceae

Olacaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Santalales. They are woody plants, native throughout the tropical regions of the world....

; however careful morphological studies of the fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

s have led to it being classified as Okoubaka and placed in the Santalaceae.

Species

• Okoubaka aubrevillei Pellegr. & Normand (formerly called Octoknema okoubaka Aubrév. & Pellegr.)
  • O. aubrevillei var. glabrescentifolia J. Léonard. variety found in Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Democratic Republic of the Congo
    The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
    
    
• Okoubaka michelsonii J.Léonard & Troupin