Common Name:

General Information

Albizia adianthifolia is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree with a flat-topped, spreading crown; it can grow 4 - 30 metres tall[, , ].
A multi-purpose tree, supplying food, medicines and various other commodities. It is an important and widely used medicinal plant in Africa and has excellent potential for use in agroforestry schemes. With its flat, wide-spreading crown, it also has value as an ornamental shade tree[].
Albizia adianthifolia is widespread through much ofl Africa. It is used for its timber, in traditional medicine for example, but does not appear to be over exploited at present; moreover the species shows a remarkable wide ecological adaptation (it even survives well in urban gardens as a remnant of the former habitat). The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

Tropical Africa - Gambia and Kenya southwards to Angola and extending to South Africa and eastern Madagascar.

Habitat

A wide range of habitats from high-rainfall forest to seasonally dry forest and wooded savannah[]. Mainly in moister semideciduous forest; growing in secondary forest, forest edges, roadsides and abandoned farmland, at elevations to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	15.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Albizia adianthifolia is found in a wide range of environments in tropical Africa, succeeding in wet woodlands right through to wooded savannah. It can be found at elevations up to 2,000 metres[]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 15 - 34°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 900 - 4,000mm[].
Succeeds on a wide range of soil types, preferring fertile, deep and sandy soils[]. Plants can withstand periodic inundation of the soil[]. Prefers a pH in the range 4.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4 - 7[].
Trees can grow rapidly, with a recorded maximum early height growth of 2 metres per year[]. However, growth of planted trees is often much less and even slow during the first years. In planting experiments in Ghana 3-years-old trees reached a height of on average 1.5 metres with a stem diameter of 1.5 cm[].
Trees usually flower at the end of the dry season, just after or with the emergence of new leaves[].
Trees respond well to coppicing[].
Sometimes considered to be an aggressive colonizer[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable[].

A sauce is made from the seeds[]. The flattened seeds are 7 - 9mm long and 6 - 8mm wide, in pods 9 - 19cm long[].

Medicinal

Albizia adianthifolia is an important and widely used medicinal plant in African traditional medicine. More research is desirable on its active compounds, some of which have already shown interesting pharmacological activities. Various plant parts are used in traditional medicine[].

The sap of the bark is taken internally in the treatment of respiratory complaints, as an anodyne and to treat allergic reactions[].
Externally, the sap is applied to the eye to treat river blindness and conjunctivitis[]. The sap is also applied to sores and to allay toothache[].

The bark is used internally as a vermifuge[]. In traditional South African medicine the bark is used to improve memory and to treat Alzheimer’s disease[]. A twig-bark decoction is administered as a purgative and anodyne[].
Externally, the bark is administered to treat scabies and other skin complaints, and to treat fever[].

The powdered roots are administered to women in labour or with irregular menstruation[].
A root infusion is applied to treat eye complaints[].

The leaves are used internally against diarrhoea and gonorrhoea, and externally to treat wounds and sore feet[].

A fruit extract is drunk to relieve stomach-ache[].

Agroforestry Uses:

A natural pioneer species, commonly invading disused farmland. It is very fast-growing, fixes atmospheric nitrogen and has a wide range of uses, so could make an ideal species for restoring native woodland and also for establishing woodland gardens[].
Trees are planted, or retained when other trees are removed, for soil improvement and conservation[]. They are locally valued as shade trees for crops such as cocoa and coffee plantations[].
Albizia adianthifolia is often recommended as an auxiliary tree in agroforestry systems, improving the soil with its nitrogen-fixing root nodules, providing mulch with its leaf litter, reducing erosion with its large rooting system, and protecting crops from too much sun[]. However, the results of screening trials were quite variable, from disappointing due to slow initial growth in Tanzania and Zambia, to very good locally in Ghana[]. The existence of different ecotypes has been suggested, and this deserves more research attention because it may offer possibilities for optimizing the use of Albizia adianthifolia in agroforestry systems and reforestation programmes under different ecological conditions[].

Other Uses

An insoluble gum is obtained from the bark. It is sometimes used in local cosmetics[, ].

The wood is straight grained or interlocked, moderately coarse, moderately light and moderately durable[]. The heartwood is pale brown or golden brown, sometimes with a greenish tinge, and distinctly demarcated from the around 5cm wide whitish or pale yellow sapwood[]. It generally saws and works easily with ordinary hand and machine tools[]. The use of a filler is necessary to obtain a good finish. The wood nails satisfactorily, and gluing and staining properties are good[]. It is used for light construction (e.g. Posts, rafters) and carving (e.g. Images, spoons, masks, clubs). It is also suitable for light flooring, joinery, interior trim, furniture, cabinet work, boat building, vehicle bodies, toys and novelties, tool handles, baseball bats, boxes, crates, hardboard and particle board[].
The wood is used as firewood, although it burns quickly; it is also made into charcoal[, ].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing.
Seedlings are classified as strong light demanders. The germination rate of seeds in the light and dark may be equal, but seedlings soon die in the shade. Regeneration is most abundant in forest disturbed by logging. In burnt forest, seedlings are less abundant. There are about 25,000 seeds per kg. Seeds should be collected from pods still attached to the tree to reduce damage by insects, and they should be dried immediately after collection. They can be stored for up to 3 months if ash is added to reduce insect damage. In cultivation seed may be used for propagation, but wildlings are sometimes also used for planting. Experiments in Ghana showed that Albizia adianthifolia can be successfully propagated vegetatively by root cuttings.

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