Annickia polycarpa and Annickia chlorantha (Oliv.) Setten & Maas are closely alike in characters and uses and there has often been confusion over identity. Their range only overlaps in Nigeria and Cameroon, any reports of Annickia chlorantha to the west of that region should always be applied to Annickia polycarpa[].

Common Name: African Yellow Wood

General Information

Annickia polycarpa is a tree growing from 2 - 20 metres tall with a trunk around 30cm in diameter[, , ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials.
Annickia polycarpa has a wide geographic distribution across West Africa. Although il may be facing habitat loss locally, its overall extent of occurrence is large and the species is found in 14 protected areas. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

An extract of the bark is used as an ingredient of arrow poisons[].

Botanical References

Range

Western tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to Nigeria and Cameroon.

Habitat

An understorey tree growing in primary forests and old growth secondary formations[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	20.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The plant is a specific treatment for ulcers[].

The bark has a bitter flavour and a decoction is said to have an antiseptic action[]. It is taken internally in the treatment of jaundice[].
An extract of the bark is used as a wash on sores, ulcers, leprosy blotches etc, and is also used as an ophthalmic[, ].

Both the stem bark and the root bark have shown a strong presence of alkaloids[].

Other Uses

A yellow dye is obtained from the wood and more especially from the inner bark. It is used for colouring cloth, mats and skins. The dye is self-mordanting on skin, where it has a light yellow shade[, , ].

The bark is used for making traditional houses[],

The wood is yellow, fading to brown on exposure. It is very soft, but is resistent to insect attacks and can also be split easily with an axe. It is valued locally in much of its range, beings used for house construction and for making furnitures and tools[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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