Common Name:

General Information

Distemonanthus benthamianus is a deciduous tree; it can grow up to 36 - 40 metres tall. The cylindrical bole can be straight or slightly sinuous, around 60 - 130cm in diameter; with buttresses that can vary from small to prominent[, ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a dye and source of wood. The wood is of high quality and the tree is commonly harvested from the wild and its wood exported.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to Cameroon, south to Gabon and Congo.

Habitat

Secondary formations; evergreen and half-deciduous forests; usually as isolated individuals, the tree is never abundant and is rarely found in groups; at elevations from 200 - 400 metres[].

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	35.00 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

None known

Other Uses

The wood contains water-soluble yellow extracts that, when wet, can stain items it is in contact with[].

The heartwood is lemon-yellow to yellow-brown; it is clearly demarcated from the 2 - 4cm wide band of whitish to straw-coloured sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain interlocked; some logs present a highly figured wood. The wood is of moderate weight; moderately hard to hard; moderately durable, being resistant to dry wood borers and moderately resistant to fungi and termites. The wood seasons normally, with only a slight risk of checking or distortion; once dry it is moderately stable to stable in service. It contains up to 1.3% silica and has a high blunting effect on tools, stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; there can be some difficulties due to the irregular grain, filling is recommended in order to obtain a better finish; nailing and screwing are good, but pre-boring is required in order to avoid possible splitting; gluing is correct. The wood has many uses, including for high class furniture, cabinet making, panelling, joinery, construction, light carpentry, flooring, turnery and decorative veneers[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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