A_--bonsai--_stand_made_from_African_Padauk_wood_2013-06-02_13-19

''Pterocarpus soyauxii'', the African padauk or African coralwood, is a species of ''

Pterocarpus ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus ...

'' in the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

, native to central and tropical west

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

east to Congo-Kinshasa and south to

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

.International Legume Database & Information Service
''Pterocarpus soyauxii''
/ref> It is a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that ar ...

growing to 27–34 m tall, with a trunk diameter up to 1 m with flaky reddish-grey bark. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...

are pinnate, with 11–13 leaflets. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s are produced in

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are ...

s. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in parti ...

is a thorny pod 6–9 cm long, which does not split open at maturity.World Agroforestry Centre
''Pterocarpus soyauxii''

Uses

The leaves are edible, and contain large amounts of

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...

; they are eaten as a

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gr ...

. Bark extracts are used in

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedi ...

to treat skin parasites and fungal infections. The

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

is valuable; it is very durable, red at first, becoming purplish-brown on exposure to light, with a density of 0.79 g/cm³.CIRAD Forestry Department
Padouk (pdf file)
It is resistant to termites. It is valued for making

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a sh ...

s in Africa due to its tonal resonance. The wood is also favored for its use in stringed instruments (namely acoustic and electric guitars) for its tonal attributes and durability. Dust from the wood produced during

wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wood ...

can cause

dermatitis Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can ...

in some people.Kiec-Swierczynska, M., Krecisz, B., Swierczynska-Machura, D., Palczynski, C. (2004). Occupational allergic contact dermatitis caused by padauk wood (''Pterocarpus soyauxii'' Taub.). ''Contact Dermatitis'' 50 (6): 384-385. Native African names include Kisese (Congo), Mbel (Cameroon), Mukula, N'gula (Zaire), and Tacula (Angola).

References

soyauxii Leaf vegetables Plants used in traditional African medicine {{Dalbergieae-stub