Afzelia africana, the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a Myrmecophyte tree species in the family Fabaceae.
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.
It is typically found in dense, evergreen forests, but may also be found in the
savanna and the coastal forests of
East Africa.
Description
Mature trees grow between 6 and 30 m in height. Produces white or greenish-white
with a red or pink stripe in
.
The flowers give way to dark brown or black shiny
containing poisonous black
attached to an edible orange
aril.
The trunk diameter may reach 100–170 cm, sometimes more.
The leaves are bright green, about 30 cm long, with 7-17 pairs of elliptic or ovate leaflets.
Uses
Afzelia africana was used in the
Middle Ages for
ship building.
It is one of the traditional djembe woods.
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.
[ Jewel of Muscat timeline. Accessed 2013-01-13.] The trade name for the wood of this species is doussié; it is known for being resistant to decay and
.
The leaves are sometimes used as fodder for livestock.
Gallery
Afzelia africana MHNT.BOT.2004.0.227.jpg|
Afzelia africana MS5227.JPG|
Afzelia africana1.jpg|
Afrikanisches Afzelia Holz.JPG|
External links
