Dialium aubrevillei
Pellegr.
gbif· cc0
President and Fellows of Harvard College
Description
A large tree. It grows 30-65 m high. The trunk can be 30 m long. It has buttresses and is about 1 m across. The trunk can be fluted. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. There are about 5 leaflets and they are 10 cm long by 4 cm wide. They have a wedge shaped base and edges that curve back. They are shiny dark green. The fruit are black oval berries about 3 cm across. There is one seed.
Edible Uses
The fruit are eaten.
Known Hazards
The saw dust may cause irritation to mucous membranes in wood workers.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in evergreen rain-forest and semi-deciduous forest in West Africa. It is usually on river banks. It can grow in poor acid soils.
Where It Grows
Africa, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, West Africa,
Cultivation
Plants are grown from seeds. They can germinate in shade but seedlings need to be in the sunlight.
Propagation
Seed - it may take 2 weeks to 3 months to germinate, and the germination rate is moderate.
Other Uses
The heart wood is light pinkish-brown to brown or red-brown, sometimes very dark; it is clearly demarcated from the 4 - 8cm wide band of sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight to entangled. The wood is heavy to very heavy, hard to very hard, elastic; it is very durable, even in fresh water, resisting attacts by fungi, dry wood borers and termites. The wood seasons slowly, with a high risk of checking or distortion; once dry it is poorly stable in service. It has a high blunting effect, stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; it planes to a good finish with a nice polish without the use of a filler; nailing and screwing are good, but require pre-boring; gluing is correct. The wood is used for purposes such as construction (including in contact with fresh water), heavy flooring, turnery, railway sleepers, tool handles, exterior panelling and joinery, sliced veneer. The wood is used for making charcoal.
Notes
Also as Caesalpinaceae.
Also Known As
Afanbeou, Ciania, Duabankye, Eyoum, Giakaba, Kropio, Ngolo-mambui
References (4)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 3. Kew.
- Oteng-Amoako, A. A. (Ed.), 2006, 100 Tropical African Timber Trees from Ghana. Forestry Research Institute of Ghana. p 122
- Voorhoeve, A. G., 1965, Liberian high forest trees. Pudoc p 198
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
