Baikiaea insignis | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Genus: | Baikiaea |
Species: | B. insignis |
Binomial name | |
Baikiaea insignis Bentham | |
Baikiaea insignis is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae.
Baikiaea insignis ranges through the Guineo-Congolian region into eastern Africa, from Senegal through Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Angola, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. [1] It has very large flowers; the four white petals each being up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long and up to 7 cm (2.8 in) wide, with the yellow fifth petal only half as big. With a total width of 40 cm (16 in) it is possibly the widest flower in Africa, and among the largest known tree-borne flowers, [2] (but also see Pachira insignis ).
Baikiaea insignis is found in a range of plant communities, from sea level up to 1,800 metres elevation. It is found in rainforests, periodically flooded riparian forests with Uapaca heudelotii and Irvingia smithii , gallery forests, upland and mountain forests, and swamp forests. [3]
Baikiaea insignis subsp. minor, commonly known as Nkobakoba or Nkoba, is a subspecies found in Bukoba district of Tanzania and the South Buddu forests of Uganda. [4] B. insignis minor and Afrocarpus dawei are the dominant canopy trees in Minziro and Sango Bay forests, a distinctive swamp forest community found along the lower reaches of the Kagera River west of Lake Victoria, on the border of Tanzania and Uganda. [5]