Avodire
Turraeanthus africanus

Family: Meliaceae

What it is like

Avodira, Turraeanthus africanus, is a large, evergreen tree that grows up to 35 m in height and 120 cm in diameter in Western Africa. It has a heavy, dark green, and spreading crown and its irregularly shaped bole can be unbranched for 10-15 m. The bark and leaves are used as fish poison. Medicinally, the plant is used in the treatment of cough, fever, headache, epilepsy, filariasis, hernia, etc. It is also used as an abortifacient. It has no edible parts. The wood is distinctly lustrous, medium weight, soft, but not durable and is susceptible to attacks of fungi, dry wood borer, termite, and marine borer. It is used for light construction, flooring, shipbuilding, vehicle bodies, toys, novelties, boxes, crates, etc. It is also used for fuel and charcoal production. Other common names include apeya, engan, agbe, lusamba, wansenwa, African Satinwood, and African White Mahogany.

Turraeanthus africanus is an evergreen Tree growing to 25 m (82ft) by 25 m (82ft) 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 can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 25

Where it is found

An understorey to canopy tree in lowland evergreen forest and moist semideciduous forest, often in humid localities along streams and on the margins of poorly drained meadows and swamps; occasionally to 1,500 metres.

Western tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to Uganda, south to Angola and DR Congo.

Conservation Status: Status: Vulnerable A1cd

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 2

Bark extracts are taken, or added to a bath, in order to treat coughs, fevers, headache, epilepsy, filariasis, and as an abortifacient. The dried and pulverized bark, with salt added, is rubbed into scarifications as a treatment against hernia. The seed oil is used as an abortifacient. Several diterpenoids and triterpenoids have been isolated from the bark and seeds. Stem bark extracts, and some of the isolated diterpenoids, exhibited significant antimicrobial activities against the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformansand the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Alkaloids have also been isolated from the stem bark. Bark extracts showed some activity against the storage pest beetles Callosobruchus maculatusand Sitophilus zeamais. A labdane diterpenoid isolated from the bark exhibited in-vitro anti-plasmodial activity against a chloroquine resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum. An ent-labdane isolated from the seeds showed in vitro cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines.

Abortifacient: Causes an abortion.

Antibacterial: Kills bacteria.

Antifungal: An agent that inhibits or destroys fungi. Used in the treatment of various fungal problems such as candida.

Antitussive: Prevents or relieves coughing.

Cancer: Used in the treatment of cancer.

Epilepsy: Used in the treatment of Epilepsy - a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Malaria: Treats malaria - an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites spread to people through the bites of mosquitos.

Parasiticide: Treats external parasites such as ringworm This should perhaps be joined with Parasiticide in

Other

Rating: 4

Other Uses: The heartwood is creamy white to pale yellow, darkening to golden yellow upon exposure to light; it is indistinctly demarcated from the 5 - 6cm wide band of sapwood. The grain is straight to interlocked; texture fine and even; the wood distinctly lustrous, with a silky shine; quartersawn surfaces often have an attractive mottled figure. The wood is medium weight; soft; it is not durable, being susceptible to fungal, dry-wood borer, termite and marine borer attacks. With some care, it air dries fairly easily and rapidly, but there is a serious risk of distortion and slight risk of checking. The wood saws and works well with ordinary equipment and with only slight dulling effects on saw teeth and cutting edges; tearing may occur in planing because of the presence of interlocked grain; it can be polished to an excellent finish; splitting is common during nailing and screwing, and pre-boring is recommended; gluing, painting and varnishing properties are all good, but the bending properties are poor. Sliced veneer of excellent quality can be produced, but the logs are often too irregular to produce good results in peeling. A valuable and decorative wood, it is used for a range of purposes including high-quality furniture, cabinet making, decorative carpentry, moulding and panelling, musical instruments, and for sliced veneer. It is suitable for light construction, flooring, ship building, vehicle bodies, toys, novelties, boxes, crates, vats, turnery, hardboard, particle board and pulpwood for paper roduction. The wood is used for fuel and for charcoal production. The whitish wood is light and easy to work. It is used for general carpentry and the interior finishes of houses.

Charcoal: Used for fuel, drawing, deodorant, filter, fertilizer etc.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.

Parasiticide: Kills external body parasites such as hair lice.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

How it is grown

Young seedlings require shade, but saplings need more light for proper development, preferring small gaps in the forest. Too much light, however, often results in low branching. Plants often prefer sandy soils in the wild. Often found in poorly drained soils in the wild. Trees respond well to coppicing and pollarding. In tests in Guinea, all seedlings planted in the full sun had died after 2 years, whereas more than 80% of the seedlings planted in forest understorey had survived after 3 years. Growth was slow, however, with a mean height of 150 cm after 6 years. Trees can produce flowers throughout the year. For trees in the natural forests, the minimum allowed felling diameter at breast height (dbh) is 60cm in cote d'ivoire, 70cm in Ghana and 80cm in Liberia.

Propagating it: Seed - the viability is very short and so it should be sown immediately after collection. When fresh seeds are sown the germination rate can be up to 80% within 5 - 7 weeks. Young seedlings require moist soil and quite deep shade. Seedlings need 10 months to reach 10cm in height, and they have to stay in the nursery for at least one year, until the first compound leaves appear. Wildlings are occasionally collected from the forest for planting, but they are very susceptible to drought.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Medium

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

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

The bark is used as a fish poison; the leaves are occasionally also used for the same purpose. The sawdust is very irritant and may even cause internal bleeding in wood workers; good ventilation is required.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Bingeria africana (Welw. ex C.DC.) A.Chev. Guarea africana Welw. ex C.DC. Turraeanthus malchairi De