Evergreen, dioecious, medium-sized tree up to 30 m tall; bole fairly short, straight, cylindrical, without buttresses but sometimes basally thickened; bark surface reddish brown to blackish, with small irregular scales, inner bark granular, reddish or brown, exuding a little clear sap; branches numerous, whorled, horizontal, hollow, with longitudinal grooves, brownish black, glabrous. Leaves opposite, simple and entire; stipules absent; petiole c. 1 cm long, glabrous; blade elliptical to ovate, rarely obovate, 8–25 cm × 3–8 cm, base rounded or cuneate, apex acuminate, thinly leathery, glabrous and shiny, pinnately veined with numerous lateral veins. Inflorescence a terminal raceme or panicle with strongly reduced branches or flowers single or in pairs in leaf axils. Flowers unisexual, regular, 5-merous, pinkish or reddish, rarely white; pedicel 3–8 cm long; sepals orbicular, unequal, outer ones 5–8 mm in diameter, inner ones 12–15 mm in diameter, glabrous; petals obovate to orbicular, 20–25 mm long, glabrous; male flowers with numerous stamens in 5 bundles opposite the petals, 10–15 mm long, anthers arranged on the internal face of the bundle; disk star-shaped with deeply folded glands; female flowers with superior, incompletely 5-celled ovary and sessile stigma, staminal bundles reduced to a few free, 4–5 mm long staminodes, disk glands grooved. Fruit a large ellipsoid berry 20–50 cm × 5–14 cm, with 5 longitudinal ridges, 40–80-seeded. Seeds ovoid, 2.5–3 cm × 1.5–2 cm, enclosed in a pinkish aril; embryo small, embedded in oily endosperm.

Stomachic (bark)

PROTAbase: Allanblackia floribunda

A decoction of the inner bark is taken to treat dysentery and stomach-ache, and as a mouthwash to treat toothache. A decoction of the bark or leaves is taken to treat asthma, bronchitis and cough. Sap squeezed from the bark is a component of a medicine used to treat urethral discharge.