Common Name: Okwen

General Information

Brachystegia kennedyi is an evergreen tree; it usually grows 30 - 50 metres tall, sometimes taller. The straight, cylindrical bole can be unbranched for 9 - 18 metres, 100 - 200cm in diameter with buttresses up to 5 metres high[].
The tree is commonly harvested from the wild for its timber, which is used locally and also exported.
Forest outside protected areas has significantly declined because of large-scale logging and clearing for agriculture. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - southern Nigeria, western Cameroon.

Habitat

Remnant patches of high forest; older regrowth forest; deciduous forest; widely distributed in evergreen, lowland rain-forest with rainfall at least 1,260mm[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	40.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropics, it grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall is at least 1,260mm[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The heartwood is light to dark brown; it is clearly demarcated from the yellow to yellowish brown sapwood. The texture is medium to coarse; the grain usually deeply interlocked, producing a pronounced roe figure; lustre is high. The heartwood is rated as moderately durable. The wood dries rather slowly, with a marked tendency to check and warp; once dry it is fairly stable in service. It is difficult to saw because of gumming of the saw teeth; blunting may be serious; it machines moderately well with good turning characteristics; it is difficult to plane to a smooth surface because of severe tearing of the grain. It is used traditionally for poles in the contruction of huts, and sometimes for purposes such as parquet flooring, decorative veneer, general construction and joinery where high durability is not required[, ].
The wood is used for fuel and to make charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed -

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