If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Tropical Plants

Pterocarpus osun

Craib

Fabaceae

+ Synonyms

Common Name: Camwood

Pterocarpus osun

General Information

Pterocarpus osun is an evergreen or deciduous tree with a spreading crown growing 12 - 30 metres tall. The bole is about 80cm in diameter, short, often crooked and sometimes with slight buttresses[
328
Title
African Flowering Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
Publisher
Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].
The tree is of local importance, supplying timber, tannins and medicines. The wood is of a very good quality and is traded.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

West tropical Africa - Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Zaire.

Habitat

Mixed deciduous wet forests at elevations of 90 - 150 metres[
328
Title
African Flowering Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
Publisher
Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitSemi-deciduous Tree
Height18.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropical lowlands, where it is found at elevations below 150 metres.

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[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The resin is astringent. It is used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].

The stem is an ingredient of traditional medicines against sickle-cell disorder and amenorrhoea[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The powdered stem is applied topically to treat skin diseases, to prevent infections of the freshly severed umbilical cord, to treat stiff joints, sprains and rheumatic complaints, and to promote healing of fractured bones[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

In-vitro antimicrobial properties of the stem have been demonstrated[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Stem extracts showed antioxidant activity, and could induce a depigmenting effect and replace synthetic cosmetic formulations[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Other Uses

A resin is obtained from the tree[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. It contains tannin.

The reddish sap from the bark is used for dyeing such items as traditional sculptures[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The heartwood, bark and roots are pounded into a paste and used to colour the skin[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].
The wood contains red pigments of the santarubin and santalin groups. These can be used as histological stains[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

The heartwood is bright red, becoming a purplish-brown upon exposure to light; it is clearly demarcated from the 6 - 10cm wide band of sapwood. The texture is coarse; the grain straight or interlocked. The wood is moderately heavy to heavy; hard to very hard; very durable, being very resistant to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons somewhat slowly, but with very little risk of checking or distortion; once dry it is stable in service. It has a fairly high blunting effect, so stellite tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; the interlocked grain can lead to difficulties when planing etc; nailing and screwing are generally good, but require pre-boring and there is a risk of thinner boards splitting; gluing is correct, but requires care due to the density of the wood. It is a good quality wood that is used for high-end uses such as furniture, cabinet making, turnery, carving etc, as well as for heavy duty purposes such has heavy construction, ship building, hydraulinc works (including in sea water), joinery, railway sleepers etc[
848
Title
Tropix 7
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://tropix.cirad.fr/en
Publisher
CIRAD
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
]. The bole is used traditionally to make dugout canoes and the wood for carpentry, drums and walking sticks[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pterocarpus+osun>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.