Cryptosepalum tetraphyllum
(Hook.f.) Benth.
Fabaceae
Cynometra tetraphylla Hook.f.
Common Name:
General Information
Cryptosepalum tetraphyllum is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 30 metres tall. The usually straight, but sometimes sinuous, bole can be up to 80cm in diameter and free of branches for up to 16 metres, though it is sometimes branched near the base. It rarely has buttresses up to 75cm high[
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 plant is harvested from the wild for local use of its wood.
A general decline in the habitat type of this species has been caused by mining, logging and the establishment of commercial plantations. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[
338- Title
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
Western tropical Africa - Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana
Habitat
Sometimes very abundant, in evergreen closed rain-forests and secondary jungle, from riversides in the plain to mountain crests and torrent-sides; at elevations up to 1,000 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
Weed Potential | Yes |
Conservation Status | Vulnerable |
Other Uses Rating | |
Habit | Evergreen Tree |
Height | 18.00 m |
Pollinators | Insects |
Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
The heartwood is white to pinkish-red; it is not clearly differentiated from the sapwood. It saws well[
332- Title
- The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Burkil. H. M.
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 1985 - 2004
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
]. Of poor quality but it is used locally in construction[
332- Title
- The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Burkil. H. M.
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 1985 - 2004
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
,
1309- Title
- The Leguminosae; A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation
- Publication
-
- Author
- Allen O.N.; Allen E.K.
- Publisher
- University of Wisconsin
- Year
- 1981
- ISBN
- 0-333-32221-5
- Description
- An amazing and comprehensive work, giving a brief guide to the many genera of the family Fabaceae and also the principle uses of the genus.
]. Some suspicion must be place on this report, which also states that the plant is used in Nigeria under the common and misleading name 'African Pine'. However, the African Plant Database[
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.
] says that this species is not native to Nigeria, but is found further west from Ghana to Guinea[
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.
].
Propagation
Seed -
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