Xymalos

Lemonwood
New foliage of a tree in South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Magnoliids
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Monimiaceae
Genus:	Xymalos Baill.
Species:	X. monospora
Binomial name
Xymalos monospora (Harv.) Baill.

Xymalos monospora (plant family Monimiaceae), commonly known as lemonwood, is a monotypic species of evergreen tree native to Africa. Xymalos is an Afromontane endemic, and can be found from 900–2700 meters elevation in the highlands of Eastern Africa from Sudan to South Africa, as well as on Mount Cameroon and Bioko in west-central Africa.

Lemonwood is commonly found in escarpment forest and regenerated scrub. Its leaves have a strong lemon scent when crushed. Fragrant yellow flowers appear in spring and are followed by small green capsules that take about a year to ripen.

Gallery

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  inflorescence
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  fruit

References