Triplochiton scleroxylon

Last updated

Triplochiton scleroxylon
Triplochiton scleroxylon K.Schum. (GH0301).jpg
Specimen collected in Kakum National Park, Ghana
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Triplochiton
Species:
T. scleroxylon
Binomial name
Triplochiton scleroxylon

Triplochiton scleroxylon is a tree of the genus Triplochiton of the family Malvaceae . The timber is known by the common names African whitewood, abachi, obeche (in Nigeria), wawa (in Ghana), ayous (in Cameroon) and sambawawa (in Ivory Coast). The tree is the official state tree of Ekiti State, Nigeria. [2]

Contents

Description

The species is distributed over the tropical areas of West Africa and Central Africa. [3]

Uses

Workmen spraying the trunk of an Obeche tree with Gammaxene to protect it against timber-boring insects The National Archives UK - CO 1069-20-19.jpg
Workmen spraying the trunk of an Obeche tree with Gammaxene to protect it against timber-boring insects

The timber yielded is typically pale yellow and is moderately soft and light for a hardwood. [4]

Abachi wood Abachi.JPG
Abachi wood

The timber is used in the manufacture of veneer, furniture, picture frames and mouldings. It is also used by guitar makers. Gibson and Fender Japan have used the wood to produce limited edition guitars. [5] [6]

The tree is a host of the African silk moth, Anaphe venata , whose caterpillars feed on the leaves and spin cocoons which are then used to make silk. [7]

The wood is exploited in its natural habitat, a harvest that is unsustainable in some areas. However, it remains classed as 'least concern' on the IUCN Red List. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Podocarpus latifolius</i> Species of conifer

Podocarpus latifolius is a large evergreen tree up to 35 m high and 3 m trunk diameter, in the conifer family Podocarpaceae; it is the type species of the genus Podocarpus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorubaland</span> Cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa

Yorubaland is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and the remaining 6.5% is in Togo. Prior to European colonization, a portion of this area was known as Yoruba country. The geo-cultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the majority of this population being ethnic Yorubas.

<i>Dalbergia melanoxylon</i> Species of plant

Dalbergia melanoxylon is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The tree is an important timber species in its native areas; it is used in the manufacture of musical instruments and fine furniture. Populations and genomic resources for genetic biodiversity maintenance in parts of its native range are threatened by overharvesting due to poor or absent conservation planning and by the species' low germination rates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ekiti State</span> State of Nigeria

Ekiti State is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the northeast by Kogi State, to the south and southeast by Ondo State, and to the west by Osun State. Named for the Ekiti people—the Yoruba subgroup that make up the majority of the state's population—Ekiti State was formed from a part of Ondo State in 1996 and has its capital as the city of Ado-Ekiti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapele</span> Species of tree

Entandrophragma cylindricum is a tree of the genus Entandrophragma of the family Meliaceae. It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli or sapele mahogany, as well as aboudikro, assi, and muyovu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosewood</span> One of several types of wood from tropical trees

Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues.

Satinwood may refer to:

<i>Pericopsis elata</i> Species of flowering plant

Pericopsis elata is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is known by the common names African teak, afromosia, afrormosia, kokrodua and assamela.

<i>Podocarpus milanjianus</i> Species of conifer

Podocarpus milanjianus is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is native to the highlands and mountains of tropical Africa.

<i>Afzelia africana</i> Species of legume

Afzelia africana, the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a tree species in the family Fabaceae.

<i>Khaya senegalensis</i> Species of tree

Khaya senegalensis is a species of tree in the Meliaceae family that is native to Africa. Common names include African mahogany, dry zone mahogany, Gambia mahogany, khaya wood, Senegal mahogany, cailcedrat, acajou, djalla, and bois rouge.

<i>Nauclea diderrichii</i> Species of plant

Nauclea diderrichii is a species of tree of the genus Nauclea in the family Rubiaceae. It is known by the common names bilinga, aloma, badi, kusia and opepe.

Terminalia ivorensis is a species of tree in the family Combretaceae, and is known by the common names of Ivory Coast almond, idigbo, black afara, framire and emeri.

Triplochiton is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. It is a small genus of trees comprising tall tropical African trees with palmately lobed alternate leaves like those of the maple and being included in the Sterculiaceae subfamily of Malvaceae.

<i>Celtis mildbraedii</i> Species of flowering plant

Celtis mildbraedii is a species of forest tree in the family Cannabaceae. It was previously assigned to the family Ulmaceae. These trees grow in limited areas of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. They are also found in forested areas from West Africa to Sudan, DRC, Angola and Tanzania. Common names include natal white stinkwood, red-fruited white-stinkwood and natal elm. This species is more common in Tropical Africa than in Southern Africa.

The Okomu National Park, formerly the Okomu Wildlife Sanctuary, is a forest block within the 1,082 km2 (418 sq mi) Okomu Forest Reserve in the Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State in Nigeria. The park is about 60 km (37 mi) north west of Benin City. The park holds a small fragment of the rich forest that once covered the region, and is the last habitat for many endangered species. It continues to shrink as villages encroach on it, and is now less than one third of its original size. Powerful corporations are involved in plantation development and logging concessions around the park, which also pose a threat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iroko</span> Genus of plants of the family Moraceae

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.

<i>Diospyros crassiflora</i> Species of tree

Diospyros crassiflora, commonly known as Gabon ebony, African ebony, West African ebony, and Benin ebony is a species of lowland-rainforest tree in the family Ebenaceae that is endemic to Western Africa. It is named after the West African state of Gabon, though it also occurs in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.

<i>Apate terebrans</i> Species of beetle

Apate terebrans, common names shot-hole borer or trunk borer or girdler, is a species of horned powder-post beetles belonging to the family Bostrichidae.

References

  1. 1 2 African Regional Workshop (Conservation & Sustainable Management of Trees, Zimbabwe, July 1996). 1998. Triplochiton scleroxylon. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. Downloaded on 24 July 2013.
  2. "Ekiti adopts 'Obeche' as state tree, plants 500,000". thehopenewspaper.com. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  3. African Plant Database
  4. Wood Species Database: Obeche - TRADA
  5. Fender Japan JB75 in Ayus/Obeche - TalkBass.com
  6. Gibson.com - Gibson Les Paul Jr Doublecut
  7. African whitewood (Triplochiton scleroxylon) - Reforet IITA