Common Name:

General Information

Homalium smythei is an evergreen tree, usually growing up to about 10 metres tall, but reaching 25 metres in the forests of Cote D'Ivoire. The bole is slender, straight and long.[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of wood.
The tree has a restricted range, and this has been widely logged and degraded. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Guinea to Cote D'Ivoire.

Habitat

Moist, dense rain forest, galleried forest or the more open secondary growth forests, from the lowlands up to elevations of 1,850 metres[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Bark-ash mixed with palm-oil is rubbed on to the back to relieve back-pains but 'when rubbing it in, the fingers must not be used: only by using the big toe to apply the salve will relief be soon effected!'[].

Other Uses

The yellow wood is very hard and strong. It is sawn up for small timbers and is good for making pestles for rice-mortars[]. The stems are used as hut poles[].
The wood is used to make charcoal[].
We do not have any more information on the wood of this species. However, we have a general description of the wood for the tropical West African members of this genus, which is as follows:-
The heartwood is yellowish-white, sometimes with darker stripes; it is not differentiated from the sapwood. The texture is fine; the grain straight or interlocked; lustre is dull. The wood is moderately durable, being fairly resistant to marine borer attack. It has good weathering properties. It is reported to require very careful seasoning. The wood is easy to saw, plane, and finish, but hardened cutters are required. Rapid blunting may occur due to the presence of silica; it has good steambending characteristics. The wood is used for purposes such as heavy construction, flooring, boatbuilding, railroad crossties, poles and piles[].

Propagation

Seed -

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