Mimusops laurifolia

Mimusops laurifolia is a large evergreen tree, native to the Ethiopian Highlands and the highlands of southeastern Arabian Peninsula.[1]

Mimusops laurifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Sapotaceae
Genus: Mimusops
Species:
M. laurifolia
Binomial name
Mimusops laurifolia
(Forssk.) Friis

Description

Mimusops laurifolia is an evergreen, broad-canopied tree, typically growing up to 15 metres tall, and up to 25 metres under optimal conditions. The fruit is a berry about 35mm x 20mm.[2]

Distribution

In Africa, M. laurifolia is found in scattered sites in the northern and eastern Ethiopian Highlands of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and northwestern Somaliland, and in the coastal mountains of Djibouti. It also occurs in a few sites on the southwestern Arabian Peninsula – in stream valleys on the slopes of the Sarawat Mountains in northwestern Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia, and on Jabal Ureys and Jabal Gedu, coastal mountains along Yemen's southern coast. In Jabal Ureys and Jabal Gedu, M. laurifolia occurs in small enclaves of fog forest where the coastal mountains intercept moisture-bearing winds from the Arabian Sea.[3]

Uses

Local communities gather the edible fruit from wild trees, and occasionally use the timber for fuel, construction, and carpentry.[4]

Conservation status

M. laurifolia is extremely rare in Southwest Arabia. Its distribution is limited to humid sites, and it has suffered from habitat loss, overgrazing, and desertification. The population in the Sarawat mountains is limited to a few stream valleys (wadis). A dozen old trees were observed in Jabal Gedu, and only two trees in Jabal Ureys.[5]

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References
  1. Kilian, Norbert, Peter Hein and Mohamed Ali Hubaishan (2004). "Further Notes on the Flora of the Southern Coastal Mountains of Yemen". Willdenowia Bd. 34, H. 1 (Aug. 25, 2004), pp. 159-182.
  2. Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2020-04-26. [tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Mimusops+laurifolia]
  3. Kilian, Norbert, Peter Hein and Mohamed Ali Hubaishan (2004). "Further Notes on the Flora of the Southern Coastal Mountains of Yemen". Willdenowia Bd. 34, H. 1 (Aug. 25, 2004), pp. 159-182.
  4. Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2020-04-26. [tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Mimusops+laurifolia]
  5. Kilian, Norbert, Peter Hein and Mohamed Ali Hubaishan (2004). "Further Notes on the Flora of the Southern Coastal Mountains of Yemen". Willdenowia Bd. 34, H. 1 (Aug. 25, 2004), pp. 159-182.
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