Panda oleosa

Panda is a plant genus of the family Pandaceae. It contains only one known species, Panda oleosa, native to western and central Africa (Liberia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cabinda, Gabon, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Cameroon, Zaire).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Panda oleosa
Panda oleosa, from Vegetation der Erde (1915)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Pandaceae
Genus:	Panda Pierre
Species:	P. oleosa
Binomial name
Panda oleosa Pierre
Synonyms[1]
Porphyranthus Engl. Porphyranthus zenkeri Engl. Sorindeia rubiflora Engl.

Chimpanzees have been observed to hammer on the nuts of Panda oleosa, which are particularly hard to open.[8]

Humans cook and eat the seeds and also use an oil produced by the seeds in food preparation, the wood is used to make canoes and for carpentry.[9]

References

1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
2. Harris, D.J. (2002). The vascular plants of the Dzanga-Sangha Reserve, Central African Republic: 1-274. National Botanic Garden (Belgium), Meise.
3. Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo , ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.
4. Sosef, M.S.M. & al. (2006). Check-list des plantes vasculaires du Gabon. Scripta Botanica Belgica 35: 1-438.
5. Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
6. Lisowski, S. (2009). Flore (Angiospermes) de la République de Guinée. Scripta Botanica Belgica 41: 1-517.
7. Lejoy, J., Ndjele, M.-B. & Geerinck, D. (2010). Catalogue-flore des plantes vasculaires des districts de Kisangani et de la Tshopo (RD Congo). Taxonomania. Revue de Taxonomie et de Nomenclature Botaniques 30: 1-307.
8. Chimp Nut-Cracking Site Offers Clues to Early Tool Use. By Bijal P. Trivedi, National Geographic Today. May 23, 2002
9. Vegetable oils. PROTA. 2007. pp. 129–. ISBN 978-90-5782-191-2.