Accra copal, Ogea copal
Daniellia ogea

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

Daniellia ogea is a deciduous Tree growing to 40 m (131ft) by 35 m (114ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 40

Where it is found

Rainforest. Daniellia ogea occurs in evergreen and semi-deciduous forest, also in swampy localities near water courses, from sea-level up to 800 m altitude.

Western tropical Africa - Senegal to Gabon.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Central Africa, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guin?e, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, West Africa,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 3

Gum exudates from cracks and wounds in the trunk are used to make a varnish called 'West African Gum Copal'. The heartwood is pale pinkish to reddish-brown with occasional darker streaks; the 4 - 17cm wide band of sapwood is whitish to straw coloured. The texture is rather coarse; the grain straight to shallowly interlocked; the surface lustrous; may be somewhat gummy. The wood is light in weight, soft; it is not very durable, having a slight resistance to fungi and being susceptible to dry wood borers and termites. It seasons rapidly, with only a slight risk of checking or distortion; once dry it is moderately stable in service. The wood works easily with hand and machine tools, quartersawn material tends to tear in planing and shaping, produces a woolly finish unless tools are kept sharp, nails, screws well; gluing is correct, though assembling and gluing is sometimes difficult due to the warping of dried veneers. It is liable to sap stain, log conversion should be rapid. The wood is used for plywood, joinery, general millwork, furniture components, boxes and crates, a decorative veneer can be produced from selected logs. In Sierra Leone it has been reported that trees with a bole diameter of 90?100 cm yield 6?9 m_ of usable wood.

Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

How it is grown

Daniellia ogea occurs in evergreen and semi-deciduous forest, also in swampy localities near water courses, from sea-level up to 800 m altitude. In Nigeria it occurs in old tree plantations after felling of the plantation trees. In forest management, there is generally no focus on Daniellia ogea because it is not a preferred timber tree. In Sierra Leone the average density of trees with a bole diameter of more than 60 cm has been estimated to be 0.06 per ha. The minimum bole diameter allowed for harvesting is 60 cm in C?te d?Ivoire and Cameroon, 70 cm in Liberia and 90 cm in Ghana. In Sierra Leone it has been reported that trees with a bole diameter of 90?100 cm yield 6?9 m_ of usable wood.

Propagating it: Seed

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Ehyedua, Shedua (Ghana), Oziya, Daniellia (Nigeria), Fara (Ivory Coast), Nsou (Cameroon), Faro (France), Incenso (Portuguese Guinea).

Synonyms

Cyanothyrsus ogea Harms Daniellia caudata Craib Daniellia fosteri Craib Daniellia punchii Craib Daniellia similis Craib Daniellia thurifera chevalieri J.L?onard