Common Name:

General Information

Lannea velutina is a shrub or a tree; it generally grows from 2 - 8 metres tall, occasionally to 15 metres. The bole is up to 50cm in diameter[, ].
The tree is often harvested from the wild for its bark, which is used to make a popular red-brown dye[]. The tree also provides food, medicines and a range of materials for local use.
Lannea velutina has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Senegal to Burkina Faso and Ghana; also in Chad, Central African Republic.

Habitat

Wooded savannah, on various types of soil; edge of lateritic hardpan (very abundant) in savannah; lateritic scree; gravel; sandy places[]..

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	7.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, , ].

Medicinal

The bark and roots have medicinal use. In macerate they are used in a bath for children with rickets, and also to ease general pains in adults[, ].

A decoction of powdered root is considered a good remedy for diarrhoea[, ].

The bark is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, gastric pain, oedema, paralysis, epilepsy and insanity[, ].
Applied externally, the bark is used on wounds, ulcers and leprous spots[, ].

A decoction of the bark and leaves is used as a tonic, both as a drink and a bath, because it is thought to control arterial tension[].

The bark contains tannins[].

Other Uses

The bark contains tannins[].
A red-brown dye is obtained from the bark[]. The bark yields, as do other Lannea spp., a popular red-brown dye[]. It is one of the main plants used in the production of the cloths called 'basilanfini', widely associated with the notion of healing, since the decoction of the plant is both medicinal and dyes the colour of blood[].
The bark is cut into small pieces and cooked for a long time. The cooled decoction is filtered and the cloth to be coloured is kept for 24 hours in the filtrate. The cloth colours red, red-brown or orange-red without any mordant[].

Fibre isolated from the bark is used to make ropes[].

Sap of the bark is said to provide a good varnish[].

The whitish wood is soft. It is used to make small stools, and is flexible enough for bows[]. It is considered suitable for making planks, small stools and other utensils. The wood is popular for making beehives since it is easy to hollow out[].
It is a preferred source of firewood in Burkina Faso[].

Propagation

Seed -

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