''Afzelia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of plants in

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. The genus name of ''Afzelia'' is in honour of

Adam Afzelius Adam Afzelius (8 October 175020 January 1837) was a Swedish botanist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Afzelius was born at Larv in Västergötland in 1750. He was appointed teacher of oriental languages at Uppsala University in 1777, and in 1785 ...

(1750–1837), a Swedish botanist and an apostle of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

Evolutionary history

''Afzelia'' is closely related to, and the sister taxon of ''Intsia''. Both ''Afzelia'' and ''Intsia'', along with ''Brodriguesia'' form the clade Afzelieae within the legume subfamily Detarioideae. The earliest definitive record of ''Afzelia'' in the fossil record is a well-preserved, compression fossil of a leaflet (with cuticle) from the late Oligocene (27.23 Ma) Guang River flora of northwestern Ethiopia (Amhara), named ''Afzelia afro-arabica''. Numerous other records, some which may represent ''Afzelia'' (or potentially, ''Intsia''), are known fossil wood occurrences from the Paleogene and Neogene of Africa and Asia and are included in the form genus, ''Pahudioxylon''.

Species

12 species are accepted. *''

Afzelia africana ''Afzelia africana'', the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a Myrmecophyte tree species in the family Fabaceae. Range It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRCongo, Ivory Coast, G ...

'' – western tropical Africa to Uganda *''

Afzelia bella ''Afzelia'' is a genus of plants in family (biology), family Fabaceae. The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical Africa or Asia. The genus name of ''Afzelia'' is in honour of Adam Afzelius (1750–1837), a Swedish botanist and an ap ...

'' – western and west-central tropical Africa *'' Afzelia bipindensis'' – Ivory Coast and Nigeria to Uganda and Angola *''

Afzelia cambodensis ''Afzelia'' is a genus of plants in family Fabaceae. The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical Africa or Asia. The genus name of ''Afzelia'' is in honour of Adam Afzelius (1750–1837), a Swedish botanist and an apostle of Carl Linn ...

'' – Cambodia *''

Afzelia javanica ''Afzelia'' is a genus of plants in family Fabaceae. The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical Africa or Asia. The genus name of ''Afzelia'' is in honour of Adam Afzelius (1750–1837), a Swedish botanist and an apostle of Carl Linn ...

'' – Sumatra and Java *''

Afzelia martabanica ''Afzelia'' is a genus of plants in family Fabaceae. The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical Africa or Asia. The genus name of ''Afzelia'' is in honour of Adam Afzelius (1750–1837), a Swedish botanist and an apostle of Carl Linn ...

'' – Myanmar *''

Afzelia pachyloba ''Afzelia pachyloba'', commonly known as afzelia, white afzelia, , or , is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae that is native to tropical Western and Central Africa. It is harvested for its timber. Distribution and habitat ''A. pachyloba'' ...

'' – Nigeria to Democratic Republic of the Congo *''

Afzelia parviflora ''Afzelia'' is a genus of plants in family (biology), family Fabaceae. The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical Africa or Asia. The genus name of ''Afzelia'' is in honour of Adam Afzelius (1750–1837), a Swedish botanist and an ap ...

'' – West Africa (Liberia to Côte d'Ivoire) and Angola *''

Afzelia peturei ''Afzelia'' is a genus of plants in family Fabaceae. The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical Africa or Asia. The genus name of ''Afzelia'' is in honour of Adam Afzelius (1750–1837), a Swedish botanist and an apostle of Carl Linn ...

'' – Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia *''

Afzelia quanzensis ''Afzelia quanzensis'' (pod mahogany, , , ) is a species of tree native to sub-Saharan Africa. It ranges from Somalia and Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa. It is a protected tree in South Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Caesal ...

'' – Somalia to Angola and South Africa *''

Afzelia rhomboidea ''Afzelia rhomboidea'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is threatened by habitat loss. References

* Afzelia, rhomboidea Vulnerable plants Decorative fruits and seed ...

'' – Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the Philippines *''

Afzelia xylocarpa ''Afzelia xylocarpa'' is a species of tree in the family ''Fabaceae''. It is from Southeast Asia and grows in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma in deciduous forests. It can reach 30 metres tall with a trunk up to 2 metres in diameter i ...

'' – Indo-China

Uses

''Afzelia'' species are used primarily for

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

, though some species also have medicinal uses. The timber is most commonly traded under the collective name "doussie", as well as under name "afzelia." African species are sometimes traded as "African mahogany" or "pod mahogany", despite the genus being botanically unrelated to

Meliaceae Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarp ...

(mahogany.) The

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s are red and black and are used as

bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...

s. The wood is often used as the surface material for outdoor

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

s. The highly figured wood of the Asian species, ''

'', is sold as Afzelia xylay. The seeds and bark of this species are used as

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. The dense and wavy wood of an ''

'' is used in

ship-building Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces i ...

.National Geographic TV, ''Arab Treasure Ship.'' Viewed 2013-01-13.

References

External links

ILDIS world database of legumesDoussie technological characteristics
Tropix program, CIRAD Agricultural Research for Development Countries * {{Taxonbar, from=Q311373 Fabaceae genera Paleotropical flora Taxa named by James Edward Smith Wood