Taxonomy

The genus Cynometra is composed of pantropical species of which 25 is native to

Tropical Africa Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the tropi ...

. Some of the African species have fruit descriptions dissimilar to Cynometra species from the Asian continent and may yet form a distinct genera in the future.

Description

The species is a large tree capable of growing up to 36 meters tall and reaching a diameter of 120 cm, its trunk is straight, angular and rarely cylindrical, at the base of the tree are thin root buttresses up to 3 meters or more in height and extends along the ground. At maturity, the bark is reddish-brown. Leaves, paripinnate compound arrangement,

bifoliate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

, commonly having a pair of leaflets, stipules present, and about 1 mm long, petiole, 3–5 mm long. Leaf-blade, alternate with a falcate outline and a glabrous surface; leaflets are 6–10 cm long and 1–4 cm wide with a coriaceous surface, acuminate or acute apex. Fruit, oblong to obovate, flat, smooth brown pod, rounded at the base, widest around the middle, apiculate at the apex, 1-2 seeded.

Distribution

Largely occurs in dense and deciduous forests of West Africa but can also be found in semi-deciduous zones. Found in

Ivory Coast 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 ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Uses

Wood is hard and heavy and is commonly used in heavy construction work, bridge and railway building.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15461876 Flora of West Tropical Africa ananta Flora of Ivory Coast