This species is sometimes treated under Eribroma (as Eribroma oblongum (Mast.) Pierre ex A.Chev.)

Common Name:

General Information

Sterculia oblonga is a deciduous tree growing 25 - 40 metres tall. The clean, straight bole is up to 120cm in diameter, with sharp buttresses up to 2 metres high[, ].
The edible seed is gathered from the wild for local use. The tree is also exploited locally as a source of fibre and medicines, and provides a useful timber that is used locally and also traded.
Levels of exploitation for its timber are moderate and are contributing to the declines in population numbers. The tree has been classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2016)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Cote D'Ivoire to DR Congo.

Habitat

Lowland rain forest[]. Gallery forest; transition from deciduous forest to rain-forest; at elevations from 600 - 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	25.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Seedlings succeed in quite deep shade, but plants require increasing amounts of light as they grow older, requiring full sun as they mature[]. Grows best in a fertile, well-drained soil[].
Average increase in height in Ghana is about 30cm during the first year with 9-year-old trees achieving heights of 3 - 15 metres tall[].
Under the forest canopy in Guinea, saplings were 50cm tall 1 year after planting and 125cm tall after 2 years[].
In Cote d'Ivoire trees showed a mean annual increment in bole diameter of 13 mm in the first 14 years after planting[].
Freshly harvested logs sink in water, so they cannot be transported by river[].

Edible Uses

Seeds[]. They can be roasted and eaten whole like peanuts, or roasted, pounded and then cooked with vegetables such as peas or pumpkins[].

Medicinal

A mixture of the pulped leaves and oil is applied to the chest of children as a dressing to cure chest complaints[].

A bark decoction is drunk as a cure for acute stomach-ache[].

Other Uses

The fibrous bark of young trees is used as bark cloth for partitioning huts[].

The heartwood is a creamy white to a light yellow-brown with white veins; it is not clearly demarcated from the white sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight or interlocked; there is an unpleasant odour from green wood that disappears upon seasoning. The wood is moderately hard; moderately heavy; not very durable, being susceptible to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons slowly, with a high risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is poorly to moderately stable in service. It saws well, with moderate blunting effects on saw teeth; it works well with machine tools, but is more difficult with hand tools; it finishes with difficulty, and a filler is needed; staining and polishing are satisfactory; nailing and screwing properties are good; gluing is correct. The wood is used for boat building, railway ties, flooring, beams, planks and furniture. It is also suitable for construction, veneer, plywood, vehicle bodies, handles, sporting goods, toys, agricultural implements, hardboard and particle board[, , , ].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe. Germination usually begins 8 - 15 days after sowing, but the germination rate can be low. In the nursery, the seedlings need to be kept in the shade. When they are 25 - 30 cm tall they can be planted out under the forest canopy cover or in forests paths. It is recommended to refrain from planting in the full sun[].
A physical dormancy caused by the hard seed coat of the mature seeds of many species in this genus can be overcome by scarifying the seed. This is carried out by cutting away or abrading some of the seed coat to allow the ingress of water, though great care must be taken not to damage the embryo[]. The aril surrounding the seed should also be removed - this is easiest when it has been softened through soaking in water[]. The seeds germinate optimally at temperatures between 20 - 30°c. They can be sown in a nursery seedbed or in containers. A germination rate of about 95%, occurring within about 2 weeks can be expected if the seed has been properly treated[].

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