''Terminalia leiocarpa'' (African birch; ) is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of tree in the

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 ...

'' Terminalia''. It is a deciduous tree native of tropical Africa from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

in the west to

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

in the east and as far south as the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. ''Terminalia leiocarpa'' germinates in the new soils produced by seasonal wetlands. It is a forest fringe plant, growing at the edges of the rainforest, although not deep in the rainforest. It also grows in savanna, and along riverbanks, where it forms gallery forests. The tree flowers in the rainy season, from June to October. The fruit are winged samaras, and are dispersed by

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

Ethnobotany

It is one of the plants used to make ''

bògòlanfini Bògòlanfini or bogolan (; "mud cloth"; sometimes called mud-dyed cloth or mud-painted cloth in English language, English) is a handmade Malian cotton fabric traditionally dyed with fermented mud. It has an important place in traditional Malian ...

'', a traditional

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

an mudcloth. Small branches with leaves are crushed to make one of the yellow dyes. The inner bark of the tree is used as a human and livestock anthelmintic for treating worms, and for treatment of a few protozoan diseases in animals, '' nagana'' (an animal trypanosomiasis), and babesiosis. The inner bark is used as a chewing stick in

Nigeria Nigeria, 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 Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and extracts of the bark show antibacterial properties. The stem barks contains castalagin and flavogallonic acid dilactone. Laboratory investigation of the effects of aqueous stem bark extract of Anogeissus leiocarpus, which contains antioxidants, indicates that it provides dose-dependent benefits against gastric ulcers. The observed effectiveness is sufficient to support the ethno medicinal application of the plant in ulcer treatment and management.Hafsat Rufa’i, Humphrey C. Nzelibe and Musa M. Abarshi. Science World Journal Vol. 16(No 3) 2021 www.scienceworldjournal.org ISSN: 1597-6343

References

External links

leiocarpa Flora of Benin Flora of Burkina Faso Flora of Cameroon Flora of the Central African Republic Flora of Chad Flora of Eritrea Flora of Ethiopia Flora of the Gambia Flora of Ghana Flora of Guinea Flora of Ivory Coast Flora of Mali Flora of Mauritania Flora of Niger Flora of Nigeria Flora of Senegal Flora of Sudan Flora of Togo Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Trees of Africa Plants described in 1828 Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle {{Myrtales-stub