Afzelia africana Seeds | African Mahogany
LATIN NAME: Afzelia africana
COMMON NAME: African Mahogany, Doussié
Plant Profile
Afzelia is a big savanna tree of West and Central Africa, prized for timber that resists termites and for the bright arils around its seeds. It grows from Senegal and Gambia across to Nigeria, Cameroon, the Congo basin, Uganda and western Kenya, usually on moist woodland and forest edges where the water table is within reach of its roots. The tree reaches fifteen to twenty metres, with a short, fluted trunk, a dense spreading crown and paripinnate leaves of three to six pairs of large, glossy leaflets. The flowers are unusual for a legume: a single large white petal marked with pink and red, held in a loose panicle, and only that one petal is developed. The fruit is a thick, woody pod that turns almost black and splits with a crack to release seeds wrapped in a bright orange aril. Those arils are edible and are collected and sold in markets across the region.
Science & Biotechnology
Afzelia africana belongs to the Detarioideae, the group of legumes that includes the African mahoganies and the tropical timber trees, and most of that group does not form the nitrogen-fixing root nodules found in peas and beans. Afzelia is no exception: it relies instead on mycorrhizal fungi to reach phosphorus in poor savanna soils, which is one reason seedlings transplant badly and why nursery stock often fails on a new site. The tree is hermaphrodite and pollinated by large bees and beetles that push into the single big petal, and the pod takes several months to mature. Seed dispersal depends on animals taking the aril, and rodents and monkeys do most of the work, often dropping the seed away from the parent. Regeneration in the wild is poor wherever livestock graze, because seedlings are browsed to the ground, and the species is now listed as vulnerable across much of its range. Logging for doussié timber removes the largest fruiting trees, which are exactly the ones that keep the population going.
Uses & Benefits
The wood, sold as doussié or afzelia, is hard, interlocked and extremely durable, and it is used for flooring, stairs, boat decks, furniture and exterior joinery; it is one of the timbers that termites leave alone. The orange arils are eaten raw or cooked, and they have a sweet, slightly resinous taste; the seeds themselves are eaten after long boiling and leaching in some areas. The leaves are an important dry-season fodder for cattle and goats, cut from trees and carried to the compound, and the bark is used in medicine for stomach and skin complaints. The tree fixes little nitrogen but improves soil through leaf litter and shade, and it is retained in farmland for that reason. In a garden it is a large, slow tree for a tropical or frost-free climate, grown for its crown and its strange flowers. It is not a tree for small plots, and its timber value makes it a target for illegal cutting.
Growing from Seed
Scarify the seed coat with a file or sandpaper and soak in warm water overnight; sow in a deep pot of sandy loam at 25 to 30 degrees and keep it moist but not wet. Germination is fast when the seed is fresh, often within three weeks. The seedling develops a long taproot at once, so use a tube at least 30 cm deep and plant out before the root circles. Give the young tree light shade for the first year, then full sun. It responds to mycorrhizal inoculum from soil collected under a mature tree, and this can make the difference between a thriving plant and a stunted one. Water through the first three dry seasons, mulch widely, and protect the stem from livestock with a stout cage. The tree coppices and resprouts after fire, and it can be managed on a long rotation for poles and timber.
Our Take
A heavy, slow African timber tree with edible orange arils and leaves that keep cattle alive in the dry season. Plant it for the long term.
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