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View crop Data sheet EcoPortPentaclethra macrophylla
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| Notes |
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| DESCRIPTION: It is a tree reaching 20-40 m in height and about 6 m in girth. It has a characteristic low branching habit and an open crown, which allows substantial light under its canopy. The compound leaves are usually about 20-45 cm long and have 10-12 pairs of stout opposite pinnae. The pods are 40-50 cm long and 5-10 cm wide. USE: the seeds are edible, dried pods are used as fuel and wood is used as firewood and charcoal. The seed is a source of edible oil, 'the oil bean'. Crushed seeds taken in case of abortion; leaf and stem decoctions are taken against diarrhoea. The trees fix atmospheric nitrogen and the leaves are used as manure. The tree is also planted as an ornamental and farmers protect this species on farms because of its open crown form that allows substantial light and does not inhibit crop plants grown under its canopy. This accounts for the trees use in combination with food crops on farms and particularly in home gardens in south east Nigeria. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. Oil-bean trees produce beans from their 10th year and will continue to bear regularly. COMMON NAMES: Oil bean tree, Owala oil tree, Atta bean. FURTHER INF: It occurs from Senegal to Angola and also to the Islands of Principe and Sao Tome. This multipurpose tree is endemic to the humid and some parts of the sub-humid zones of West Africa. It is more common in the rain forest but individuals are found elsewhere in the high forest zone. Often it occurs near the streams and on the edges of damp depressions and frequently seen as a small tree of untidy habit and large crown on roadsides and farms. In such places it is usually a relic, having been left on account of its hard wood. | Sources |
| SOURCES(28.06.02) E8432 White F 1983 pp 81 253 Roecklein J 1987 pp 346 [USE] Duke J 1975 pp 23 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] Duke J 1981 pp 185-187 [LIG, RAIN, TEMP, PH] ICRAF Agroforestree Database |