Adeduntan, S.A.*, Olawale, A.E. and Oyerinde, O.V.

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Indigenous knowledge of Blighia sapida (Ackee) from rainforest and savanna vegetation zones of Ondo, Osun and Oyo states, Nigeria were investigated. Ten percent (10%) of the total Local Government Areas (LGA) in each vegetation zone were randomly selected. Information on the uses of Blighia sapida was collected from eight (8) respondents in three communities of each selected LGA using a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was further used to analyze the data. The results indicated that respondents across the study areas depended on the various products of Blighia sapida to meet their needs (for food, laundry, building, etc). Specifically, both young and old respondents across the study areas eat the aril of B. sapida while some other persons cook it with vegetable. However, the difference observed in the level of knowledge of the respondents suggests that people should be enlightened more on the effective uses of Ackee. There is need to create more awareness on B. sapida because it is not widely known unlike other forest fruit trees such as Garcinia kola, Chrysophyllum albidum. Efforts should be made towards the domestication of B. sapida because the trees are relatively low in abundance due to its timber that has been harvested. Key words: Blighia sapida, Ackee, Utilization, Rainforest and savanna vegetation zones, socio-economic importance, fruit tree