Common Name:

General Information

Dacryodes pubescens is an evergreen tree with a wide, spreading, hemispherical crown, that can grow up to 37 metres tall. The bole, which is often sinuous, is up to 150cm in diameter[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of wood and resin. The wood is also harvested commercially and exported.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - ?Gabon, Congo, DR Congo, northern Angola.

Habitat

Lowland rainforest and along rivers, sometimes under inundated conditions[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	30.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Fruit - cooked[]. The fruit is an obovoid drupe 20 - 30mm long and 15mm wide[]. I'm not sure that the report of the fruit being cooked is fully accurate, since boiling is said to harden the flesh. Instead, it is probably treated as below[].
The flesh of the fruits in this genus usually adheres very strongly to the seed. When placed in hot (but not boiling) water at around 60 - 85°c the fruit softens and swells and all the flesh then slides easily off the seed[, ].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The inner bark exudes a colourless fragrant resin when cut. The resin has been used for torches[].

The heartwood is a light brown; it is not clearly demarcated from the 7 - 15cm wide band of pale pink, yellow or grey sapwood, which often extends over half the radius of the log. The grain is straight or interlocked; texture is medium; the wood is lustrous, and ribbon-like markings and small stripes give it an attractive figure. The wood is of moderate weight, moderately hard to hard; not very durable, being susceptible to attack by fungi and dry wood borers, but resistant to termites. It seasons normally, with only a slight risk of distortion but a high risk of checking; once dry it is moderately stable in service. It saws slowly and with some difficulty, with a blunting effect on tools; the use of stellite-tipped saw teeth and tungsten carbide tools is recommended; it works fairly well with hand and machine tools, but rough patches may be produced on planing; it does not split on nailing and holds nails and screws well; peeling characteristics are good, and gluing, boring and sanding properties satisfactory; the wood paints and varnishes well. It is recommended for furniture, screens, door and window frames, stairs and other light carpentry, flooring, construction, vehicle bodies, mine props, poles and piles. It is also considered suitable for ship and boat building, tool handles, agricultural implements, joinery, vats, toys, novelties, turnery, railway sleepers, veneer, core stock, hardboard and particle board[299; 848].

Propagation

Seed -

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