| DESCRIPTION: A large tree, sometimes exceeding 60 m in height. Bark grey to brown, mainly smooth but flaking off in characteristic scales. USE: Wood used as timber (framing, panelling and veneer) and for fuel. Bark infusions containing a bitter substance are drunk to treat colds and oil from the seeds is rubbed into the hair to kill lice. It casts a dense shade and is hence suitable as a shade tree. Also grown as an ornamental. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: East African mahogany, Mozambique mahogany, nyasaland mahogany, red mahogany. FURTHER INF: It prefers terraces and stable, gently sloping riverbeds in riparian forests; it also grows well on adjacent colluvial slopes at the margins of floodplains. Where sufficient moisture is available, the species is not limited by topographic position. It is frost sensitive and shares the dominant canopy position with Diospyros mespiliformis, Parinari excelsa and Syzygium cordatum. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, it grows in well-developed gallery forests with Chrysophyllum species. |
