The ackee is native to tropical West Africa in Cameroon, Gabon, Benin, Burkina Fasom Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra-Leone. It is related to the lychee and the longan, and is an evergreen tree that grows about 10 metres tall, with a short trunk and a dense crown. The leaves are pinnate leathery, 15–3ntimetres long, with 6–10 elliptical obovate-oblong leaflets. Each leaflet is 8–12 centimetres long and 5–8 centimetres broad. The flowers are unisexual and fragrant.