Lannea welwitschii | |
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Specimen with a vine clothing the trunk | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Anacardiaceae |
Genus: | Lannea |
Species: | L. welwitschii |
Binomial name | |
Lannea welwitschii | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Lannea welwitschii is a species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae . [3] [4] It is native to the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa. The timber is used to make furniture and utensils and for many other purposes, the fruits can be eaten, and the bark is used to produce a dye, for making rope and in traditional medicine.
A medium-sized evergreen or deciduous tree, L. welwitschii can grow to a height of about 30 m (100 ft). The trunk is straight and cylindrical and up to 100 cm (40 in) in diameter. It has no buttresses. The bark is grey or greyish-brown and smooth at first, developing rounded shallow pits and flakes later. The inner bark is fibrous, being reddish with white streaks, and exudes a clear sticky fluid when damaged. The branches form a spreading crown and the twigs bear many lenticels. The leaves are in opposite pairs and are clustered at the ends of the branches. They are pinnate, up to 20 by 12 cm (8 by 5 in), with usually five to seven, ovate leaflets. The inflorescences are pyramidal panicles clad in yellowish hairs, up to 20 cm (8 in) long, growing in the leaf axils. The yellowish-green flowers are unisexual and regular with parts in fours. They are followed by single-seeded drupes, 6 to 8 mm (0.24 to 0.31 in) long, which are black when ripe. [5]
The species is native to Western and Central Africa, its range extending from Liberia to Angola, Kenya and Ethiopia. It occurs in lowland rain forests below about 1,100 m (3,600 ft), with a preference for swampy or riverine locations. It is considered a pioneer species and is primarily found in secondary forest. [5]
Lannea welwitschii is fast-growing and can be coppiced or pollarded, and can be made into a living fence. An orange or reddish-brown dye can be extracted from the bark, and the fibres can be made into ropes and sandals. [6] The heartwood of the timber is cream-coloured and light, but not durable. It is used for making household utensils, boxes, crates, veneers and plywood. It is also used in flooring, furniture, vehicle bodies, cabinet work, light joinery, matches and hardboard. The wood can be used for kindling, and the bole of the tree can be hollowed out to make a canoe. [6]
The fruit can be eaten raw, being resinous with an acidic flavour. A decoction of the bark is used in traditional medicine for women's ailments, diarrhoea, dysentery, urethral discharge and haemorrhoids. The bark is applied as a pulp for the treatment of ulcers and skin ailments, and as a powder for treating wounds and snakebites. A decoction of the roots is used as an expectorant or emetic. [6]
Adenanthera pavonina is a perennial and non-climbing species of leguminous tree. Its uses include food and drink, traditional medicine, and timber.
Protea welwitschii is a species of shrub or small tree which belongs to the genus Protea, and which occurs in bushveld and different types of grassland.
Antiaris toxicaria is a tree in the mulberry and fig family, Moraceae. It is the only species currently recognized in the genus Antiaris. The genus Antiaris was at one time considered to consist of several species, but is now regarded as just one variable species which can be further divided into five subspecies. One significant difference within the species is that the size of the fruit decreases as one travels from Africa to Polynesia. Antiaris has a remarkably wide distribution in tropical regions, occurring in Australia, tropical Asia, tropical Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, Tonga, and various other tropical islands. Its seeds are spread by various birds and bats, and it is not clear how many of the populations are essentially invasive. The species is of interest as a source of wood, bark cloth, and pharmacological or toxic substances.
Margaritaria discoidea is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae, commonly known as the pheasant-berry, egossa red pear or bushveld peacock-berry. These trees are native to the warmer, higher rainfall areas of Africa.
Combretum glutinosum is a shrub species of the genus Combretum, found in the Sahel belt in parts of Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, the Gambia, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon, across to parts of Sudan. It is known as dooki in Pulaar, Kantakara in Hausa, rat in Wolof and jambakatan kè in Maninka. Its synonyms are Combretum cordofanum Engl. & Diels, C. passargei Engl. & Diels, C. leonense Engl. & Diels.
Zanha golungensis, commonly known as the smooth-fruited zanha, is a species of plant in the family Sapindaceae that is native to Africa. It is used locally for timber and herbal medicine.
Diospyros abyssinica is a tree species in the family Ebenaceae.
Zanha africana, commonly known as the velvet-fruited zanha in English and as mkalya or mkwanga in Swahili, is a species of plant in the family Sapindaceae that is native to Africa. It is used locally for timber and herbal medicine.
Klainedoxa gabonensis is a large tropical African tree of the family Irvingiaceae growing to 40m in height. Its straight trunk is buttressed and up to 25m long, while its spreading evergreen crown makes it one of the largest trees of the rainforest. It is found from Senegal to Sudan, Cameroons, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Tanzania, growing as far south as Angola and Zambia.
Cola nitida is a species of plant belonging to the family Malvaceae.
Strombosia pustulata is a species of tree in the family Olacaceae. It is native to the rainforests of tropical West and Central Africa. Common names for this tree include itako in Nigeria, afina in Ghana, poé in Abé spoken in Côte d'Ivoire and mba esogo in Equatorial Guinea.
Gilbertiodendron dewevrei is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical rain forests in Central Africa. It is often the dominant tree species of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest. The timber is traded as limbali, and is used for construction, flooring and railway sleepers. It is also used for making boats, furniture, tool handles and joinery and for making charcoal.
Brachystegia laurentii, a plant in the family Fabaceae, is a species of large tree found in western Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. It has a dense, umbrella-shaped crown. The wood is known as bomanga and has many uses in building and construction.
Aningeria adolfi-friederici is a species of plant in the family Sapotaceae, a tall, tropical forest tree. It is found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The specific name adolfi-friedericii was given in honour of Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg, a German explorer in Africa. Its trade name muna is taken from Gĩkũyũ mũna.
Drypetes gerrardii is a species of small tree or large shrub in the family Putranjivaceae. Common names include forest ironplum, bastard white ironwood, and forest ironwood. It is native to tropical and subtropical central and eastern Africa. It was first described in 1920 by the English botanist John Hutchinson, who named it after the English botanist William Tyrer Gerrard who collected plants and seeds in southern Africa in the 1860s.
Guibourtia tessmannii is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. It is a medium to large-sized tree and is native to Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The timber has an attractive appearance and has many uses, and the bark is used in traditional medicine.
Annickia affinis is small to medium sized tree that grows up to 30m tall, it belongs to the Annonaceae family. Also known as the African yellow wood, it is widely used in Central Africa and parts of West Africa in the treatment of various diseases. Both Annickia affinis and Annickia chlorantha are widely studied and sometimes credited with the name Enantia chrlorantha.
Lannea microcarpa is a dioecious plant within the Anacardiaceae family. It is also called African grapes and occurs in the Sudan and Guinea savanna of West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon. The plant is used to dye basilan fini, a traditional cloth in a red and brown colour.
Lannea schweinfurthii is a small to medium sized deciduous tree within the Anacardiaceae family. The tree is sometimes called 'bastard marula' or 'false marula' because when it is without flowers or fruits, it become quite similar to the marula tree and sometimes it's confused for the marula tree. Extracts of the species is used in traditional human and veterinary medical practices.
Albizia coriaria is a deciduous tree native to Tropical Africa belonging to the family Fabaceae, the root and stem bark are widely used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases.