Nigeria Senegal Uganda Togo Benin Mali

Afzelia africana

Source: Youtube

Source: Youtube

NAME: Afzelia africana

FAMILY: Leguminosae

COMMON NAMES: Apa, pod mahogany, African oak, African mahogany, counter wood

LOCAL NAMES: Apa-Igbo, Apa, kawo, Akpalata, Bilinga, Afzelia, Kilar

USEFUL PART(s): Root, leaves, stem-bark, seeds

GENERAL USES:

  • Young leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable

  • Fruit is edible but has a poisonous seed

  •  Dried seedpods are used as musical instruments

  • The wood is used for fuel and for making charcoal

  • The wood is use for ship building, construction, cabinetwork etc.

 GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

  • Nigeria

  • Senegal

  • Uganda

  • Togo

  • Benin

  • Mali

  • Guinea Bissau

  • Ivory Coast

WHY IS IT GREEN?

Afzelia africana medicinal values include:

  • Gonorrhoea

  • Stomach disorders

  • Hernia

  • Lumbago

  • Febrifuge

  • Antiemetic

  • Backache

  • Malaria

  • Rheumatism

  • Arthritis

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

  • Afzelia Africana improves the soil

  • Fix  Nitrogen in the soil

 FUNFUL FACT

  • The African mahogany is a large, deciduous tree and it is usually exported to Europe

  • The seeds are poisonous

Kigelia_africana_Wernfried.jpg

 FURTHER READINGS

Amusa, T. O. (2011). Effects of three pre-treatment techniques on dormancy and germination of seeds of Afzelia africana (Sm. Ex pers). Journal of Horticulture and Forestry, 3(4), 96–103. Retrieved from http://www.academicjournals.org/JHF/PDF/pdf2011/April/Amusa.pdf

Assogbadjo, A. E., Mensah, S., & Kakaï, R. G. (2017). The relative importance of climatic gradient versus human disturbance in determining population structure of Afzelia africana in the Republic of Benin§. Southern Forests, 79(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.2989/20702620.2016.1255406

Donkpegan, A. S. L., Doucet, J.-L., Dainou, K., & Hardy, O. J. (2015). Microsatellite development and flow cytometry in the African tree genus Afzelia (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae) reveal a polyploid complex. Applications in Plant Sciences, 3(1), 1400097. https://doi.org/10.3732/apps.1400097

Martins, E., Omoyeme, I., Christiana, I., Ofoefule, S., & Olobayo, K. (2009). Isolation, characterzation and compaction properties of Afzelia africana gum exudates in hydrochlorothiazide tablet formulations. . African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 3(5), 265–272. Retrieved from http://academicjournals.org/AJPP/PDF/ pdf2009/May/Martins et al.pdf

Mensah, S., Houéhanou, T. D., Assogbadjo, A. E., Anyomi, K. A., Ouedraogo, A., & Kakaï, R. G. (2016). Latitudinal variation in the woody species diversity of afzelia africana sm. Habitats in West Africa. Tropical Ecology, 57(4), 717–726.

Ogbu, I. M., & Ajiwe, V. I. E. (2016). FTIR studies of thermal stability of the oils and methyl esters from Afzelia africana and Hura crepitans seeds. Renewable Energy, 96, 203–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.04.055

Oyedemi, O. O., Adewusi, E. A., Aiyegoro, O. A., & Akinpelu, D. A. (2011). Antidiabetic and haematological effect of aqueous extract of stem bark of Afzelia africana (Smith) on streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 1(5), 353–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2221-1691(11)60079-8

Sotannde, O. A., Oluwadare, A. O., Ogedoh, O., & Adeogun, P. F. (2012). Evaluation of cement-bonded particle board produced from Afzelia africana wood residues. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 7(6), 732–743.