Zingana
Microberlinia bisulcata

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

Zingana or Microberlinia bisulcata is a usually 40 m tall tree with a straight and cylindrical trunk that can be up to 100 cm in diameter and branchless for up to 20 m. It can be found only in Cameroon and currently threatened by habitat loss. The wood is used in turnery, furniture and cabinet making, interior panelling, and veneer.

Microberlinia bisulcata is an evergreen Tree growing to 35 m (114ft) by 30 m (98ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 35

Where it is found

Occurs in lowland rainforest areas, usually on sandy soils in flat areas.

Western tropical Africa - Cameroon.

Conservation Status: Status: Critically Endangered A1c+2c

Countries/locations it is found in

Cameroon

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 4

Other Uses The heartwood is a yellow-brown to light brown, with dark brown veins; it is clearly demarcated from the 6 - 10cm wide band of sapwood. The texture is coarse; the grain interlocked, sometimes highly interlocked. The wood is moderately heavy to heavy; moderately hard; moderately durable, being resistant to dry wood borers and moderately resistant to fungi and termites. It seasons slowly, with a high risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is moderately stable in service. The wood works well with ordinary sawteeth, but there is a risk of tearing due to the highly interlocked grain - tungsten carbide cutting tools are recommended; nailing and screwing are good, but require pre-boring; gluing is correct. A valuable timber species, often with dark and light streaks, it is used in turnery, high class furniture and cabinet making as well as for tool handles, wood-ware, interior panelling and veneer

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

Soil conditioner: Plants grown to improve the structure of the soil. See also Green manures.

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

Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil

How it is grown

A plant of the lowland moist tropics. Prefers a sandy soil. This is an ectomycorrhizal species and is efficient in phosphorus recycling.

Propagating it: Seed -

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Zingana

Synonyms

Berlinia bifurcata (A.Chev.) Troupin Berlinia bisulcata (A.Chev.) Troupin