''Pterocarpus erinaceus'' is an endangered species of tree that is native to the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

ian region of West Africa. It is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is used for fuel wood, for medicinal purposes, as a woodworking material, and is useful as a nitrogen-fixing plant to improve nutrient-depleted farming land. It has several common names, including kosso, barwood, African kino tree, muninga, and ''vène''; ''mukwa'' is used for this species as well as other '' Pterocarpus''. Groves of the tree can be found on the savannahs of West Africa, but it is becoming increasingly rare and is sometimes cultivated. The tree also grows in forests of Comoé National Park in

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, a region geographically close to the Sahel but with a higher moisture regime due to its location between two large rivers. Also, the tree grows in abundance in Kurmi Local Govt. of Taraba State in Nigeria. The tree grows to about 11 meters in height on average, and bears dark, scaly bark and yellow flowers. The fruits are winged pods. ''P. erinaceus'' grows well on sunny, hot African plains with long dry seasons and frequent fires. The wood, which varies from yellowish to rosy reds and rich browns, is valued for woodworking, and makes good

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

and fuel wood. The tree exudes a red sap called '' kino'', which is used as a dye in

tanning Tanning may refer to: * Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather * Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin ** Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun ** Sunless tanning, application of a stain or d ...

and cloth-making. As a legume, the tree harbors

rhizobia Rhizobia are diazotrophic bacteria that fix nitrogen after becoming established inside the root nodules of legumes (Fabaceae). To express genes for nitrogen fixation, rhizobia require a plant host; they cannot independently fix nitrogen. In gene ...

that return nitrogen to the soil, making it more fertile. Such plants are desirable on farmland. In addition, the foliage is a nutritious

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

for farm animals. Mali has an active market for ''P. erinaceus'' foliage, which is in high demand by sheep farmers for fodder. The tree has several medicinal uses, including reduction of fever and cough suppression. ''Pterocarpus erinaceus'' is one of the traditional

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

woods. It is also the only wood used to make the keys and part of the frame of the balafon and is the most common wood used to make the neck of the

kora Kora may refer to: Places India * Kora, Bardhaman, West Bengal * Kora, Bharuch, Gujarat * Korha, Katihar, also known as Kora, in Bihar * Kora, Kendrapara, Odisha * Kora, Wardha, Maharastra * Kora, Tumakuru, Karnataka * Toyaguda, Adilabad, Telan ...

. ''Pterocarpus erinaceus'' was brought to Europe in the 19th century by the Scottish explorer Mungo Park. Currently, it is a threatened due to

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term app ...

environmental degradation Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is d ...

, and

climatic change ''Climatic Change'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media covering cross-disciplinary work on all aspects of climate change and variability. It was established in 1978 and the editors-in-chief a ...

s. However, the tree is somewhat prolific and easy to cultivate, so reforestation efforts have shown some success. Other names for the tree include ''bani'' in

Fulfulde Fula ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani or Fulah (, , ; Adlam: , , ), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 30 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that st ...

, ''tolo'' in Djerma, ''wén'' in Wolof and ''ban'' in

Serer Serer may refer to: * Serer people * Serer language * Serer religion *Rafael Calvo Serer Rafael Calvo Serer (born 6 October 1916 at Valencia, Spain, died 19 April 1988 at Pamplona, Navarra, Spain) was a Professor of History of Spanish Philosophy, a ...

.FAO Species Profile
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References

External links

erinaceus ''Erinaceus'' is a genus of hedgehog from the family of Erinaceidae. There are four main species of ''Erinaceus''. The range is all across Europe, throughout the Middle East, parts of Russia, and extending to northern China and Korea. The Euro ...

Flora of South Africa Trees of Africa Flora of Ivory Coast {{Dalbergieae-stub