Afzelia africana

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

African mahogany
Habit in Senegal, with foliage below
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Fabales
Family:
Fabaceae
Genus:
Afzelia
Species:
A. africana
Binomial name
Afzelia africana

Range

It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the RCongo, DRCongo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda.

Habit

Mature trees grow between 10 and 20 m in height. They are prized for their quality wood, their bark which has many medicinal uses, and their nitrogen-rich leaves, which enrich the soil.

Uses

Afzelia africana was used in the Middle Ages for ship building.[1] It is one of the traditional djembe woods.[2] The building of a reconstructed 9th-century Arab merchantman, the Jewel of Muscat, required thirty-eight tons of Afzelia africana wood, which was supplied from Ghana. Curved trees were chosen for the ship's frames and timbers.[3]

  • seed pod halves and seed
  • open seed pod with seeds in situ
  • seeds with arils
  • wood sample

References
  1. Jackson, Robert (March–April 2012). "Sailing Through Time: Jewel of Muscat". Saudi Aramco World. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  2. Henning, Michi. "Djembe Woods: What You Need to Know". djembefola.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-20. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  3. Jewel of Muscat timeline. Accessed 2013-01-13.


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