Common Name: African Greenheart

General Information

African greenheart is a tree that can range in height from only 5 metres in the drier areas of its range up to a large, emergent tree 50 metres tall in the wetter rainforests[]. The straight, cylindrical bole, which can be 1.8 - 3 metres in diameter, is up to 20 metres high above the buttresses before branching, though it is often slightly sinuous and forked at a lower level[]. The tree has many thin, high buttresses up to 4.5 metres, extending outwards at their base into many surface plank-roots[]. Young trees have a rounded crown, which develops into 2 distinct layers, of which the lower one disappears later and the upper one develops horizontally and ultimately becomes fragmented[]. Adult trees have huge, flat crowns that spread in the upper canopy of the forest[]. The trees are often briefly deciduous, but frequently do not shed all leaves at the same time[].
The tree is the source of a valuable timber, which is being exported in increasing quantities to Europe and other destinations. The plant is also a popular traditional medicine, a source of fibre and a soap substitute. It is sometimes employed as a shade tree in plantations - often by being left as the forest around it is cleared.

Known Hazards

The stem bark is very toxic[]. It is used in arrow poisons, as an ordeal poison; a fish poison; and is mixed with rice to poison mice[].
The sawdust may irritate the skin and mucous membranes[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to southern Sudan, south to Angola and DR Congo.

Habitat

Evergreen and semi-deciduous forest, rain-forest, secondary forest, riverine forest; at elevations from near sea level to around 1,220 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Semi-deciduous Tree
Height	30.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Found in deep moist soils in the wild[].
Seedlings are often common in the forest, even in dark shade[]. However, they grow very poorly in shade, where they may be only 20 - 35 cm tall when 3 years old, whereas they may reach up to 150 cm tall after 4 years in less shaded conditions in the forest[].
Saplings and young trees demand light, and are usually found in small gaps in the forest[].
Mean annual bole diameter increments vary widely according to geographic location. Young trees in Senegal achieved 12mm, whilst in the Cote d'Ivoire it was 4.9 mm[]. In Nigeria a tree reached 90cm bole diameter in 71 years[].
The tree coppices well[].
The flowers are a good source of honey[].
This species can be confused with Samanea dinklagei and Parkia biglobosa[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Although it is recorded as being poisonous, African greenheart is commonly used in traditional medicine in Africa[]. The bark is the main part employed, though the roots and leaves are also sometimes used[].
The roots and stem bark have been shown to contain saponins, tannins, flavonoids and leucoanthocyanes[].

Bark decoctions are used internally to treat cough, bronchitis, headache, mental disorders, haemorrhoids, genito-urinary infections, stomach-ache, dysmenorrhoea and male impotence, and as an antidote
Applied externally, bark decoctions are used to treat fever, toothache, pneumonia, oedema, skin complaints and rheumatism, to expel worms, to dispel fleas, and as a purgative and abortifacient[]. A decoction of the bark also enters in a complex treatment of leprosy[].

Root extracts or macerations are used to treat mental disorders, and as an abortifacient and aphrodisiac[].

Pounded leaves and leaf decoctions are applied as an enema to treat gonorrhoea and abdominal complaints[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree is planted or left during forest clearing as a shade tree in coffee, cocoa and banana plantations[].

Other Uses

The bark fibre has been used to weave mats[].

The bark is used as a soap substitute[].

A good quality wood, it is considered to be an excellent replacement for oak (Quercus spp.) in Europe, where it is sometimes called 'African oak'[].
The heartwood is light to golden brown; it is clearly demarcated from the 5 - 15cm wide band of greyish to pale straw sapwood. The texture is coarse; the grain broadly interlocked producing an attractive ribbon figure; the lustre is moderate; there is an ammoniac odour from the green wood and when the seasoned wood is wetted. The wood is moderately heavy; moderately hard; moderately durable, with a strong resistance to dry wood borers and termites. It seasons somewhat slowly, with a high risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is moderately stable in service. The wood is fairly easy to saw and work, but with some blunting effect on cutting edges, so the use of stellite-tipped sawteeth and tungsten-carbide-tipped cutting tools is recommended. A cutting angle of 10 - 15° is recommended in planing and moulding operations to avoid picking-up of grain. The wood finishes well, but the use of a filler is needed. It holds screws and nails well, but there is a slight tendency for splitting. The gluing properties are satisfactory. It may stain if in contact with iron under moist conditions. The wood is used for planks; heavy construction, including marine construction and bridges; railway sleepers, mine props, ship building, vehicle bodies, interior trim, joinery, furniture, including garden furniture, cabinet work, sporting goods, turnery, hardboard, particle board and pulpwood[, , ]. It is used traditionally to make dug-out canoes[, , ].
The wood is also used as fuel wood and for charcoal production[]. Charcoal made from the wood has been found to be suitable for preparation of activated, decolourizing carbon used in sugar refining[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe since it has a short viability and cannot be stored for more than one month. It does not show dormancy, and usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks[]. In a germination test, 96% of the seeds germinated within 8 days[]. The seed should be sown in lightly shaded nursery beds. The growth of seedlings is slow and they may stay in the nursery for more than one year before planting out[].
Seeds for planting are collected from the forest floor. Wildlings are sometimes collected for planting[].

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