Dika Nut

Irvingia gabonensis

Physical Characteristics

Irvingia gabonensis is an evergreen Tree growing to 30 m (98ft) by 30 m (98ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Distribution

Tropical Africa - Nigeria to Central African Republic, south to Congo, DR Congo and Angola.

Habitats

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit Oil Seed Edible Uses: Chocolate Condiment Drink Oil Edible portion: Seeds, Fruit, Kernels, Leaves, Bark - drink. Seed - cooked. In season, the fallen fruits are collected in the forest and stacked till the pulp has rotted away[332 ]. The nuts are opened and the cotyledons removed and dried[332 ]. These cotyledons are a common item of market produce and are used in soups and as a food flavouring[301 , 332 ]. They are said to have a pleasant taste with a lingering slight bitterness[63 , 332 ]. The seeds are 25 - 38 mm long, 17 - 27 mm wide, 8 - 12 mm thick; the endosperm is almost non-existent[405 ]. The principal domestic use of the seed is for the preparation of odika, or dika bread, also known as Gabon chocolate[301 , 332 ]. For this the cotyledons are ground and heated in a pot that is lined with banana leaves in order to melt the fat, and then left to cool. The resultant grey-brown greasy mass is dika bread. It has a slightly bitter and astringent taste with a more or less aromatic odour. Pepper and other spices may be added, and it may perhaps be subjected to wood smoke. The end product may be made up into cylindrical packets wrapped in a basket-like or leaf-wrapping. It can be kept for a long time without going off and it is used as a food-seasoner[332 ]. An alternative method of preparation, more akin to the making of vegetable butters, is to take the fresh or stored cotyledons and pound them into a paste[332 ]. A third preparation, known in Gabon as ov?ke, is to soak the kernels for 15 - 20 days till soft and then to knead them by hand into a cheese-like paste[332 ]. A fourth practice is known in Sierra Leone, in which the cotyledons are dried and ground to a brown 'flour' in which form it can be stored for use as an additive to food as and when required[332 ]. The kernel is an important source of vegetable oil[301 , 332 ]. There is a wide variation in quantity and composition of the oil; even so the seeds are considered a suitable source of industrial and edible oils[332 ]. Total fat content has been recorded as 54 - 68%[332 ]. The crude dika paste yields on heating or boiling 70 - 80% of a pale yellow or nearly white solid fat, dika butter, which has qualities comparable with cacao-butter, and is, in fact, a possible adulterant or substitute for the latter in chocolate manufacture[63 , 301 , 332 ]. Freed from its slight odour it can also be regarded as suitable for margarine manufacture[332 ]. The yellow, fibrous fruit looks somewhat like a small mango and has a similar flavour[63 ]. The fruit pulp is palatable and can be used for a fruit drink and for jam production[303 ]. The fruit is variable, with special forms[332 ]. The pulp of some trees is edible with a turpentine flavour, and of others inedible, bitter and acrid[332 ]. The edible ones are a good source of vitamins[332 ]. The ellipsoidal to cylindrical fruit is 40 - 65mm long, 42 - 64mm wide, 34 - 60mm thick, smooth, green at maturity; mesocarp bright orange, soft and juicy with few weak fibres[405 ].

Medicinal Uses

Aphrodisiac Bitter Dysentery Mouthwash Poultice Purgative Skin The bark has a bitter taste and has the usual usages of bitter barks in Africa[332 ]. It is used as a purgative for treating gastro-intestinal and liver conditions; sterility; hernias; and urethral discharge[332 ]. It is considered by some to be a powerful aphrodisiac and to be beneficial in cases of senility[332 ]. It is used in an enema, or added to a baked banana in order to relieve diarrhoea and dysentery[332 ]. Applied externally, it is ground up with water for rubbing on to the body for easing pains[332 ]. It is used in mouth-washes for relieving toothache, made into a poultice and applied to sores and wounds[332 ]. Tannin has been reported present in both the bark and the roots, also a strong presence of alkaloid in the bark, though none in the roots[332 ].

Known Hazards

None known