Thaumatococcus daniellii (Bennett) Benth.

Common Name: African Serendipity Berry
Family: Marantaceae Peterson

Country of Origin: W. & WC. Trop. Africa
Habitat: common in rain forest clearings

Description: The fruit contains 1-3 black seeds surrounded by a gel, and capped with a membranous sac, the aril, which contains the 'sweet protein' thaumatin.

Uses: In addition to being the source of the natural sweeter thaumatin, the leaves are used for wrapping food and meat.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Plant Uses are for informational purposes only. EEB Greenhouses assume no responsibility for adverse effects from the use of any plants referred to on this site. Always seek advice from a professional before using any plant medicinally.

Accession Data:

Accession # 200202492
Source: Mike Bordelon - Smithsonian

Provenance:

SI# 1994846
Kress# 94-5251
Kress, W. J., Bordelon, M.
Plant material originally acquired from Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden (Acc# W80P233) by W.J. Kress & Mike Bordelon
16 Nov 1994

Accession Date: 11-21-2002
Bench: 1111 - AFR:Ground Bed 1 SE
- Currently: active - healthy
- Qty: 2 confirmed on 02-26-2025

Classification:

Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
SubClass: commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
SubOrder:
Family: Marantaceae
SubFamily:
Tribe:
SubTribe:

Flowering Data:

This accession has been observed in bloom on:

Year	Jan				Feb				Mar					Apr				May				Jun					Jul				Aug				Sep					Oct				Nov				Dec
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005

References (internal):

EEB Greenhouse Holdings native to: Burkina / Ghana / Guinea / Ivory Coast / Liberia / Nigeria / Sierra Leone / Togo / Cabinda / Central African Republic / Cameroon / Congo / Equatorial Guinea / Gabon / Gulf of Guinea Is. / Zaire

References (external):

The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Accessed 26 February 2015.
WCSP (2015). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Accessed 26 February 2015.
Image #00 (cropped) & #01 (original) used with the permission of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th and Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20560-0193. Last accessed on Tuesday, 16 July, 2019.

data regenerated on Wed, 26 Feb 2025 11:30:21 -0500 [bcm v4.0]

Plant Biodiversity Conservatory and Research Core

Accession Data:

Thaumatococcus daniellii (Bennett) Benth.

Accession Data:

Classification:

Flowering Data:

References (internal):

References (external):

Images:

Additional images for this accession:

Current Accessions in the Marantaceae