| Milicia regia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Milicia |
| Species: | M. regia |
| Binomial name | |
| Milicia regia | |
| Synonyms | |
Chlorophora regiaA.Chev. Contents | |
Milicia regia is a species of tropical tree in the family Moraceae. It grows in a belt on the west coast of Africa that extends from the Gambia to Ghana. It is threatened by habitat loss and logging. [1]
Milicia regia has a wide, rounded dark green crown. The trunk is tall and straight, with smooth, reddish-brown bark. The leaves are borne on short petioles and are ovate, dark green and up to 7 centimetres (2+3⁄4 inches) long. They are arranged alternately along the twig and have 7 to 11 lateral nerves and untoothed margins. Male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. Male trees are taller and more slender than female trees and start flowering first. The catkins are borne in the axils of the leaves. The male tree has long catkins that can extend to 20 cm (8 in) in length, and the flowers in the upper part of the crown come out earlier than those further down. The female catkins are produced on the upper parts of the crown and are green and up to 2 cm (1 in) in length, with protruding styles. The flowers are wind pollinated and by the time the fruits have ripened in five to six weeks, they have turned yellow. They fall from the tree and the many small seeds are dispersed by the birds, mammals and insects that feed on the fruit. [2]
Milicia regia is found (from west to east) in the Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. [1] It grows in the high forest zone, in savanna woodland, and in valleys and riverside habitats, but it needs well-drained soil. [2]
The timber is strong and durable, with logs being up to a metre (yard) in diameter. It is yellow-brown to brown with a coarse texture and darker veins. It is resistant to termites and fungal attack, and damage by wood-boring insects is limited to the sapwood. [3]
Milicia regia is one of two trees known as "odum" in Ghana, the other being the closely related Milicia excelsa . The timber from both trees is known as "iroko" and is used in construction, joinery, furniture making and the creation of mortars for grinding food. Attempts to grow the tree in plantations have been unsuccessful because the buds are attacked by the psyllid fly Phytolyma lata. [4] The larvae of this insect create galls that weaken the young tree, causing dieback and even death, with seedlings being particularly affected. [4] Natural regeneration of the tree is poor and because large numbers of trees are being felled each year, its future for commercial timber production is in doubt. [2]
Fraxinus excelsior, known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Alborz mountains, and Britain and Ireland, the latter determining its western boundary. The northernmost location is in the Trondheimsfjord region of Norway. The species is widely cultivated and reportedly naturalised in New Zealand and in scattered locales in the United States and Canada.
Alnus glutinosa, the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations where its association with the bacterium Frankia alni enables it to grow in poor quality soils. It is a medium-sized, short-lived tree growing to a height of up to 30 metres (98 feet). It has short-stalked rounded leaves and separate male and female flowers in the form of catkins. The small, rounded fruits are cone-like and the seeds are dispersed by wind and water.
Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has been introduced into North America, where it is known as the European white birch or weeping birch and is considered invasive in some states in the United States and parts of Canada. The tree can also be found in more temperate regions of Australia.
The fine-spotted woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is a widespread and frequently common resident breeder in much of west and central tropical Africa. It is a species associated with open forest, savannah and bush. This bird has a wide range and is a common species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Salix alba, the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia. The name derives from the white tone to the undersides of the leaves.
Salix discolor, the American pussy willow or glaucous willow, is a species of willow native to North America, one of two species commonly called pussy willow.
Juglans nigra, the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central Texas. Wild trees in the upper Ottawa Valley may be an isolated native population or may have derived from planted trees.
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated. They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem that is often drooping. They are found in many plant families, including Betulaceae, Fagaceae, Moraceae, and Salicaceae.
Juglans regia, the Persian walnut, English walnut, Carpathian walnut, Madeira walnut, or especially in Great Britain, common walnut, is an Old World walnut tree species native to the region stretching from the Balkans eastward to the Himalayas and southwest China. It is widely cultivated across Europe.
Salix nigra, the black willow, is a species of willow native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas.
Spirostachys africana is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a straight, clear trunk, occurring in the warmer parts of Southern Africa. Its wood is known as tamboti, tambotie, tambootie or tambuti.
Populus tremula is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from Iceland and the British Isles east to Kamchatka, north to inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and northern Russia, and south to central Spain, Turkey, the Tian Shan, North Korea, and northern Japan. It also occurs at one site in northwest Africa in Algeria. In the south of its range, it occurs at high altitudes in mountains.
The Gambian epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, and Togo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and savanna.
Milicia excelsa is a tree species from the genus Milicia of the family Moraceae. Distributed across tropical Central Africa, it is one of two species yielding timber commonly known as African teak, iroko, intule, kambala, moreira, mvule, odum and tule.
Salix triandra, with the common names almond willow, almond-leaved willow or black maul willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and Western and Central Asia. It is found from south-eastern England east to Lake Baikal, and south to Spain and the Mediterranean east to the Caucasus, and the Alborz Mountains. It usually grows in riparian habitats, on river and stream banks, and in wetlands.
Mangifera indica, commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of 30 metres. There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoes – the "Indian type" and the "Southeast Asian type".
Iroko is a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa that can live up to 500 years. This is the common name for the genus Milicia, in which there are two recognized species, which are closely related: Milicia excelsa and Milicia regia.
Alnus serrulata, the hazel alder or smooth alder, is a thicket-forming shrub in the family Betulaceae. It is native to eastern North America and can be found from western Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick south to Florida and Texas.
Terminalia sericea is a species of deciduous tree of the genus Terminalia that is native to southern Africa. Its common names include clusterleaf, silver cluster-leaf or silver terminalia in English, vaalboom in Afrikaans and mususu in Venda.
Anthostema madagascariense is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is a small to medium-sized tree or large bush, endemic to Madagascar, the Comoro Islands and Mayotte.
