Common Name:

General Information

Weinmannia rutenbergii ranges in height from a small shrub that can be only 30cm tall up to a medium-sized tree that can reach 20 metres tall[, ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, dye plant and source of wood. This is probably one of the most commonly exploited Weinmannia species in Madagascar for its wood[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Africa - Madagascar.

Habitat

Evergreen forests ; land degraded by fire; scrub and grassland; at elevations up to 2,200 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

This species has a remarkable ability to adapt to the damage caused by fire and the disappearance of the forest - in healthy humid forests it can be a tree up to 20 metres tall but when the forest is destroyed by fire, or in environments where fire recurs frequently, it can persist for perhaps 50 - 100 years with small shoots no more than 60cm tall growing from a large underground root system. If the right conditions return, then it can once more grow back into a tree form[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark and leaves of this and some other species are used in traditional medicine, especially as astringents and to treat headache[, ].

Other Uses

Pieces of bark and wood of several Weinmannia species, probably including this one, have been used to prepare a reddish brown dye[]. It should be noted that the identity of Weinmannia species in the literature is often uncertain because of misidentifications and confusion. This is a result of the many species present in Madagascar and difficulties in using identification keys[].

The wood is heavy. It is used for many purposes including parquet flooring[].

Propagation

Seed -

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