Common Name: Frankincense Tree

General Information

Daniellia thurifera is a large tree growing up to 45 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be around 40cm in diameter[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. It yields a good quality timber and gum, which are traded internationally.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Western tropical Africa - Guinea Bissau to Togo, Nigeria, Congo.

Habitat

Evergreen forest; scattered but sometimes abundant; hills, cliff along lagoon; gallery forest[]. Primary and secondary forest, riparian forest and grassy fields; at elevations from 10 - 380 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	45.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The powdered gum is used as a drink with water in order to treat coughs[].
The gum Is used to treat skin diseases and parasitic infections[].

Other Uses

Gum exudates from cracks and wounds in the trunk are used to make a varnish called 'West African Gum Copal'[]. A frankincense, it is sold as a perfume[].
A brown, fragrant balsam or oleo-resin is obtained from the trunk[, ]. It is used as an adulterant of copaiba balsam (from Copaifera species), as a material for torches, to fumigate closed areas etc[]. The fresh material is obtained by cutting out square pieces of the bark, though most of it is obtained from the ground in a semi-fossilized state[].

The heartwood is pale pinkish to reddish-brown with occasional darker streaks; the 4 - 17mm wide band of sapwood is whitish to straw coloured. The texture is rather coarse; the grain straight or shallowly interlocked; the surface lustrous; may be somewhat gummy. The wood is light in weight, soft; it is not very durable, having a slight resistance to fungi and being susceptible to dry wood borers and termites. It seasons rapidly, with only a slight risk of checking or distortion; once dry it is moderately stable in service. Works easily with hand and machine tools, quartersawn material tends to tear in planing and shaping, produces a woolly finish unless tools are kept sharp, takes nails and screws well; gluing is correct, though assembling and gluing is sometimes difficult due to the warping of dried veneers. Liable to sap stain, log conversion should be rapid. The wood is used for plywood, joinery, general millwork, furniture components, boxes and crates, a decorative veneer can be produced from selected logs[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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