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Nauclea diderrichii

Authority	(de Willd. & Th. Dur) Merr.
Family	Magnoliopsida:Asteridae:Rubiales:Rubiaceae
Synonyms
Common names	opepe, sarcocefalo, West African boxwood
Editor
Ecocrop code	1524

Notes
DESCRIPTION: It is an evergreen tree reaching a height of 30-50 m and a diameter of 0.9-1.5 m. The bole cylindrical, slender, straight and branchless, rising to 20-30 m and a broad spherical crown with thick foliage. The shining leaves are 15 cm long and bigger when young, elliptic, acute at the ends, keeled towards the base, and stipulate, with a pair of distinct leafy stipules at the base. USE: Used in palm soup in Ghana and eaten by elephants and other mammals. The timber is good for outdoor uses (harbour works, railway sleepers), buildings (carpentry, floors, facings, indoor and outdoor woodwork) and for cabinet making. A bark decoction is prescribed for anaemia, stomach-ache and indigestion, as part of an infusion for treating jaundice, bark infusion to treat gonorrhoea; a decoction of leaves is used as a wash for measles. Also planted as a shade tree.GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: Opepe, Bilinga. FURTHER INF: Scientific synonym: Sarcocephalus trillesii. The tree occur naturally within the latitudinal range of 10°N-5°S at elevations between sea level and 500 m. It is native to moist evergreen and transitional-to-moist semi-deciduous forests. The species is found throughout the tropical rainforest of West Africa and extends south to Angola. A sun-loving species, it regenerates abundantly in gaps and openings and is often almost gregarious in the transition zone between freshwater swamp and lowland forest. It does not grow well on excessively wet soils or on lateritic ones that dry out completely in the dry season. Annual wood production potential is 3-10 m3/ha.
Sources
SOURCES (N. diderrichii (De Wild. & Th. Dur.) Merill) (27.06.02) E1524 Webb D 1984 pp 197 [RAIN, TEMP, TEXT, PH, DRA, LIG, USE] INSPIRE species 114 [RAIN, TEMP, TEXT, PH, DRA, LIG, USE] ICRAF Agroforestree Database