Common Name: West African Cedar

General Information

West African cedar is a slow-growing, deciduous, dioecious large tree, growing up to 50 metres tall with occasional specimens up to 70 metres[]. The bole can be branchless for up to 30 metres, it is usually straight and cylindrical, up to 2 - 4 metres in diameter, often with blunt buttresses up to 4 metres high, sometimes extending into large, rounded surface roots[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use and is also widely exploited for its timber, which is traded internationally[].
This species is one of the major sources of African mahogany. It is widespread and heavily exploited throughout its range[]. Subpopulation densities are comparatively low and seed production is erratic, but regeneration appears to be good where parent trees remain and may also occur to some degree after burning[]. The heavy exploitation of the species has lead to it being listed as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2009)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Western tropical Africa - Liberia to Zaire and Angola.

Habitat

Most commonly found in moist semi-deciduous forest, particularly in regions with an annual rainfall of about 1,800 mm[]. It can also be found in evergreen forest[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	50.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropics, found mainly in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the region of 1,800mm[].

Under natural conditions, an average annual diameter increment of 5.1 mm has been recorded[]. In plantations in Guinea trees reached a mean height of 2.7 metres after 6 years[].
Trees start fruit production at larger bole diameters, and this has implications for forest management; harvesting trees of less than 50 cm bole diameter seriously reduces fruit production[].
Trees can become very old; for the largest specimens ages of up to nearly 1000 years have been suggested[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark is used in traditional medicine[].

The sap of the bark is applied externally as an anodyne[].
The sap of the root bark is applied to snakebites[].

The limonoids prieurianin and epoxyprieurianin have been isolated from the bark. These compounds and their acetates exhibited strong antifeedant activity against the gram pod borer Helicoverpa armigera[].
Atomasin A and atomasin B are other limonoids that have been isolated. The first compound showed moderate in-vitro inhibitory activity against chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum[].
The triterpenoid methyl angolensate has been isolated from the roots[].

Other Uses

The heartwood is dull brown to dark purplish brown, slightly darkening upon exposure; it is distinctly demarcated from the 4 - 8cm wide band of greyish white to pale brown sapwood. The grain is straight to slightly interlocked; the texture coarse and even. The wood is moderately heavy; soft to moderately hard; it is moderately durable, being susceptible to powder-post beetle, pinhole borer and marine borer attacks, moderately resistant to termites and fungi, and resistant to dry wood borers. It seasons somewhat slowly with a high risk of distortion; once dry it is stable in service. The wood saws fairly easily although it requires some power, and it works easily with both hand and machine tools. It usually contains silica (up to 0.5%) and has moderate blunting effects on cutting edges; stellite-tipped saw teeth and tungsten-carbide cutting edges are recommended. In planing and moulding operations a 15 - 20° cutting angle is recommended, especially when interlocked grain is present. It can be finished to a nice surface, but the use of a filler may be required. The wood is not liable to splitting on nailing and screwing, and has good holding properties. The gluing, staining and polishing properties are good when a filler is used. The wood is suitable for the production of sliced veneer. The wood is used for construction, exterior and interior joinery, boat building, furniture, cabinet work, high class furniture, veneer and plywood. It is suitable for flooring, interior trim, vehicle bodies, toys, novelties, boxes, crates and turnery[, ].

Propagation

Seed - fresh seeds start to germinate 1 week after sowing and the germination rate is 60 - 75%[]. Seedling growth is slow, with a plant height of 13 cm after 5 months and 20 - 30 cm after 1 year. Seedlings are very sensitive to sun-scald and have to stay under permanent shade in the nursery[]. For at least 2 - 3 years after being planted out the seedlings need slight shade to avoid high mortality, for example by a cover of a young secondary forest[].
Natural regeneration is often scarce in natural forest, but gaps created by logging operations may promote regeneration. In natural forest, saplings are most common in gaps[].

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