If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Tropical Plants

Ocotea cymosa

(Nees) Palacky

Lauraceae

+ Synonyms

Agathophyllum cymosum Blume ex Meisn.

Agathophyllum lindleyanum Blume

Daphne cupularis Lindl. ex Baill.

Laurus coccineus Boj. ex Meisn.

Laurus cupularis Lindl. ex C.F.W.Meissn.

Laurus cymosa Willd. ex Nees

Laurus madagascariensis A.Juss. ex Baill.

Laurus madagascariensis Juss. ex Baill.

Mespilodaphne cymosa (Nees) Meisn.

Mespilodaphne lindleyana (Blume) Meisn.

Mespilodaphne tapak (Baill.) Danguy

Ocotea lindleyana (Blume) Palacky

Oreodaphne cymosa Nees

Ravensara tapak Baill.

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Ocotea cymosa is an evergreen tree usually growing 20 - 25 metres tall. The bole is not always straight; it can be unbranched for up to 16 metres; around 80cm in diameter and with buttresses up to 1.5 metres tall[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
,
455
Title
Flore de Madagascar et des Comores
Publication
 
Author
Humbert H.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle; Paris
Year
1946 - 1984
ISBN
 
Description
Written in French, an excellent flora of the area though it has not been completed. Available for download from the Internet.
].
The tree yields a high quality timber and so is commonly harvested from the wild for local use and also for trade.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

455
Title
Flore de Madagascar et des Comores
Publication
 
Author
Humbert H.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle; Paris
Year
1946 - 1984
ISBN
 
Description
Written in French, an excellent flora of the area though it has not been completed. Available for download from the Internet.

Range

Africa - eastern Madagascar.

Habitat

Forests and coastal sands at elevations up to 1,000 metres[
455
Title
Flore de Madagascar et des Comores
Publication
 
Author
Humbert H.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle; Paris
Year
1946 - 1984
ISBN
 
Description
Written in French, an excellent flora of the area though it has not been completed. Available for download from the Internet.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height20.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Although generally thought of as needing moderate amounts of sun, trials have shown that it is extremely shade tolerant[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Edible Uses

The leaves, bark and fruits are aromatic; the leaves and fruits are used as condiment, the bark is added to locally prepared alcoholic drinks[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The heartwood is pale brown; it is usually indistinctly demarcated from the sapwood. The grain is usually interlocked, texture medium. The wood is moderately lightweight, it is often attacked by pinhole borers, but is moderately resistant to fungi, dry-wood borers, termites and marine borers. It is easy to saw and work with both hand and machine tools; sanding is sometimes needed for good results in planing operations; it is fairly easy to glue, paint and varnish; it nails well, with good nail-holding capacity. The peeling and slicing properties are good. The moulding properties are satisfactory and the wood is suitable for carving. It is resistant to impregnation by preservatives[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. Freshly sawn wood has an unpleasant smell[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. The wood of this species, and several other Ocotea species from Madagascar, is known as 'Varongy. It is in high demand for furniture, cabinet making, boat construction and mortars, but is also valued for construction, joinery, vehicle bodies, interior trim and pattern making. It is suitable for mine props, ship building, toys, novelties, boxes, crates, carvings, turnery, veneer and plywood. It is less suitable for flooring because it is too soft[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-12. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ocotea+cymosa>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.