bio.wikisort.org - Plant

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

Afzelia africana
Habit in Senegal, with foliage below
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Afzelia
Species:	A. africana
Binomial name
Afzelia africana Sm.

Range

It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRCongo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda.[2] It is typically found in dense, evergreen forests, but may also be found in the savanna and the coastal forests of East Africa.[3]

Description

Mature trees grow between 6 and 30 m in height. Produces white or greenish-white flowers with a red or pink stripe in panicles.[4] The flowers give way to dark brown or black shiny fruits containing poisonous black seeds attached to an edible orange aril.[5] The trunk diameter may reach 100–170 cm, sometimes more.[3] The leaves are bright green, about 30 cm long, with 7-17 pairs of elliptic or ovate leaflets.[5]

Uses

Afzelia africana was used in the Middle Ages for ship building.[6] It is one of the traditional djembe woods.[7] 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.[8] The trade name for the wood of this species is doussié; it is known for being resistant to decay and termites.[3]

The leaves are sometimes used as fodder for livestock.[2] The bark is often used for medicinal purposes in West Africa, and some groups regard the tree as "a refuge of invisible spirits".[9]

Gallery

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

References

External links

Media related to Afzelia africana at Wikimedia Commons

• Afzelia africana in West African plants – A Photo Guide.

На других языках

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[de] Afzelia africana

Afzelia africana ist eine Pflanzenart in der Familie der Hülsenfrüchtler (Fabaceae). Das Areal dieser Baumart erstreckt sich in den sudanischen Savannen und Trockenwälder, vom Senegal über Kamerun bis hin nach Uganda und Tansania. Sie ist auf der Roten Liste der IUCN in der Kategorie VU (vulnerable), also als gefährdet, geführt.[1]

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- [en] Afzelia africana

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[ru] Афцелия африканская

Афцелия африканская, или афзелия африканская (лат. Afzelia africana), — вид деревьев из семейства Бобовые. Произрастает в Западной и Центральной Африке.

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