Common Name: African Walnut

General Information

African walnut is an evergreen, medium-size to large tree reaching up to 25 metres tall, with a large, dense crown casting a deep shade[]. The bole is generally short, bossed, branched low down, and sometimes slightly swollen at the base, not usually exceeding 6 metres in length and 80cm in diameter[].
The edible seeds are harvested from the wild for local use, whilst the tree is in much demand for its high quality timber[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Western Tropical Africa - Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone.

Habitat

It has its main distribution in the rain forest. Tolerates moderate shade and is normally a constituent of the upper reaches of the lower storey but is also found in the upper canopy. Semi-gregarious, it does not appear to be selective about sites[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	20.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the hot, humid, lowland tropics. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25 - 35°c, but can tolerate 20 - 40°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 800 - 2,500mm[].
Succeeds in full sun and in partial shade[]. Shading is beneficial when plants are young[]. The tree has no special soil requirements[]. Prefers a well-drained soil[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 7[].
Fruit is normally borne plentifully in the wild[].

Edible Uses

Seed - raw or cooked[, ]. A good dessert nut with a pleasant taste[]. The oily kernel has a taste comparable to that of a chestnut or hazelnut[]. It can be eaten raw, grilled or boiled[]. The seed contains 50% oil, of which 87% is oleic acid[, ]. The seed is also fermented and used as a condiment[]. The spherical fruit is about 3cm long[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The heartwood is dark red or violet brownish-red with dark brown veins; it is clearly demarcated from the 3 - 4cm wide band of pinkish-brown sapwood. The texture is fine; the grain straight or interlocked, sometimes wavy. The wood is very hard, very heavy, elastic, and very durable, resisting water well and resistant to fungal and insect attack, particularly termites and marine borers. It seasons slowly, with a high risk of distortion and checking; once dry it is moderately stable in service. The wood has a fairly high blunting effect upon tools, stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide are recommended; it polishes well; is easy to work, but has the disadvantage of being liable to shake and crack; it takes nails and screws well so long as it is pre-bored; gluing is correct for interior use only. In great demand, the wood is used in turnery and as a substitute for mahogany, as well as for heavy carpentry, industrial flooring, piles for bridges and railway ties[, , , , ].
The wood produces a suitable charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - Because of the hard integument, germination is rather poor and may take up to a year[].

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