None known

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Antiarthritic  Antidiarrhoeal  Antihaemorrhoidal  Antiinflammatory  Antirheumatic  Kidney  Skin

A bark decoction or macerate yields a red liquor which is rich in tannins and is used for treating wounds, sores, haemorrhoids etc[299 , 332 ]. The powdered bark is dusted over ulcers, and when pulped it is rubbed over areas of muscular and rheumatic pain to relieve the pain[332 ]. Sap expressed from young leaves is applied to cuts and is taken in draught with a bark-decoction by enema for treating blennorrhoea and kidney disorders[332 ]. Terminolic acid, ellagic acid, sericic acid, quercetin and glycyrrhetinic acid have been isolated from the chloroform and methanol extracts of the bark[299 ]. Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic properties of the bark have been demonstrated in tests[299 ]. Moreover, it effectively checked diarrhoea produced by arachidonic acid and castor oil.[299 ]. Ethanol extracts of the roots showed distinct trypanocidal activity against both drug-sensitive as well as multi-drug-resistant strains of Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma brucei[299 ].

Charcoal  Dye  Fencing  Fuel  Furniture  Mordant  Pioneer  Tannin  Wood

Agroforestry Uses: The open verticillate nature of the branching makes the living tree useful as a shade tree for crops such as cocoa, coffee and bananas[303 , 332 ]. A pioneer species, it is a good colonizer of abandoned farmlands[303 ]. Other Uses A yellow dye can be obtained from the wood, and more especially from the bark[332 ]. Reddish brown and black dyes can also be obtained if iron-rich mud or iron salts are used as a mordant[299 ]. It is used for dyeing cloth and fibres for basket-work, hammocks, etc[332 ]. The heartwood is yellowish brown to pale pinkish brown; it is not clearly demarcated from the slightly paler, 2 - 5cm wide band of sapwood. The grain is usually straight, sometimes slightly interlocked; texture is moderately coarse; lustre moderate; the wood is sometimes irregularly brown striped. The wood is very light to moderately heavy; soft to moderately hard; fairly strong; fairly durable and fairly resistant to fungi, although it may be attacked by pin-hole borers, powder-post beetles, longhorn beetles and termites. It air dries well and rapidly, with little degrade, provided there is good air circulation. The rates of shrinkage are moderate. The wood is easy to saw and work with both hand and machine tools; blunting effect on cutting edges is slight; quarter-sawn wood may tear slightly in planing operations; it finishes well when a filler is used; stains, polishes and turns well; has good nailing and screwing properties; glues satisfactorily, although gluing must be done with care because the exudates from the wood are acidic. It contains yellowish tannins, which may cause staining under humid conditions and in contact with iron. The steam-bending properties are poor. A useful timber species with a yellow-brown heartwood that is similar to oak, it is a good general purpose timber that is valued for light construction, door and window frames, joinery, fine carpentry, furniture, cabinet work, veneer and plywood. It is suitable for flooring, interior trim, vehicle bodies, sporting goods, boxes, crates, matches, turnery, hardboard, particle board and pulpwood. It is used locally for house construction, planks, fencing posts, dug-out canoes, drums and mortars. The wood splits easily and is much used in Ghana for roof-shingles which are said to have a life of 15 - 20 years[299 , 303 , 316 , 332 , 848 ]. The wood is used for fuel and is highly valued for making charcoal[303 ].

Special Uses

Coppice