Common Name:

General Information

Haplormosia monophylla is an evergreen or briefly deciduous shrub tree with a compact, much-branched crown with ascending branches; it usually grows from 6 - 20 metres tall with occasional specimens to 35 metres. The fairly straight bole can be branchless for up to 15 metres, though it is often low-branching; it is fluted or angular, up to 100cm in diameter, with short and thick buttresses at the base that often extend in thick surface roots[, ].
The tree is difficult to fell with traditional tools because of its hard wood, but it is still sometimes harvested from the wild for local use of its wood. The wood is of good quality and is traded internationally in small quantities[].
Haplormosia monophylla is fairly widespread in West and Central Africa, but in most regions it is uncommon and it is selectively felled for its timber. It is expected that overexploitation and habitat degradation will result in serious population decline in the near future[]. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to Cote D'Ivoire; Nigeria to Cameroon and south to Gabon.

Habitat

Lowland evergreen forest, usually along river banks, often by the coast; also in swampy valleys; lagoons; apparently always in fresh water, often in groups on sand. Larger trees are also found isolated in the forest, some distance from water courses[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Semi-deciduous Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of lowland areas in the moist tropics.

Natural regeneration may be abundant on sandy river banks, but it is apparently rare in more closed forest[].
The logs do not float in water and consequently cannot be transported by river[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Many phenolic compounds have been isolated from the heartwood[].
The root, stem bark and leaf blade have a high alkaloid content[].
The stembark contains saponins[].
The root bark contains tannins[].
The seed contains quinolizidine alkaloids of the sparteine/lupanine class[].

Other Uses

The heartwood is yellowish brown to chocolate brown; it is distinctly demarcated from the narrow band of yellowish white sapwood. The grain is straight, sometimes interlocked; texture fine to moderately fine; the wood surfaces show a figure of fine brown and black bands; polished surfaces are slightly lustrous. The wood is heavy; very durable, being resistant to termite, Lyctus and marine borer attacks. It should be air dried slowly and with great care because of the high risk of distortion. Sawing and working of the wood is rather difficult; the blunting effect is fairly high and stellite-tipped saw teeth and tungsten-carbide-tipped cutting tools are recommended; it wood has a smooth finish and usually planes well, but sometimes with a slight picking up due to the presence of interlocked grain; it holds nails and screws well, but pre-boring is necessary; gluing does not cause problems. The wood produces decorative sliced veneer. A good quality timber, it is used for furniture, cabinet work, flooring, interior trim, poles in house building, wharf piles, canoes and sliced veneer. In Liberia it is one of the favourite woods for carving. It is also suitable for heavy construction, mine props, ship building, vehicle bodies, handles, ladders, sporting goods, agricultural implements, railway sleepers and turnery[].
The wood is used for charcoal production[]

Propagation

Seed -

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