Iroko ( Yoruba: Ìrókò) is a large

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

tree from the west coast of 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 ...

that can live up to 500 years. This is the common name for the genus ''Milicia'', in which there are two recognized species, which are closely related: ''

Milicia excelsa ''Milicia excelsa'' is a tree species from the genus '' Milicia'' of the family '' Moraceae''. Distributed across tropical Central Africa, it is one of two species (the other being '' Milicia regia'') yielding timber commonly known as ọjị, Af ...

'' and '' Milicia regia''. The genus name of ''Milicia'' is in honour of Milici (19th and 20th centuries), an administrator in Portuguese East Africa (in modern-day

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

) who supported the work of the author of the genus,

Thomas Robertson Sim Thomas Robertson Sim (25 June 1858 in Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland – 23 July 1938 in Durban, Natal (province), Natal) was a botanist, bryologist, botanical artist and Conservator of Forests in Natal, best known for his monumental work ' ...

. It was first described and published in Forest Fl. Port. E. Afr. on page 97 in 1909. The tree is known to the Yoruba as , or and is believed to have healing properties. Iroko is known to the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and historically also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', / / ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is fo ...

as wood. It is one of the woods sometimes referred to as African teak, although it is unrelated to the

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

family. The wood colour is initially yellow but darkens to a richer copper brown over time. Iroko tree

Names in Other Languages

* Yoruba : Ìrókò, Ùróko *

Gbe languages The Gbe languages (pronounced ) form a cluster of about twenty related languages stretching across the area between eastern Ghana and western Nigeria. The total number of speakers of Gbe languages is between four and eight million. The most widel ...

: Loko, Roko *

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (Sranantongo, "Surinamese tongue", Sranan, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language from Suriname, in South America, where it is the first or second language for 519,600 Surinamese people (approximately 80% of the popu ...

: Loko * Igbo: Ọ́jị̀ *

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

: Uloko * Urhobo : Uno *

Akan languages The Central Tano or Akan languages are a pair of dialect clusters of the Niger-Congo family (or perhaps the theorised Kwa languages) spoken in Ghana and Ivory Coast by the Akan people. There are two or three languages, each with dialects that ...

: Odum *

Kikongo Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola. It is a tonal language. The vast majority of present-day speakers li ...

: Kambala *

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people The Ijaw people, also known as the Izon people, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary Population, population clusters in Bayelsa State, Bayelsa, Delta State, Delta, and River ...

: Olokpata * Ejagham : Nsan

Species

Iroko is yielded mostly (probably) by ''

''. In much of the literature on this timber the names of the trees that yields it are given as '' Chlorophora excelsa'' (syn. ''Milicia excelsa'') and '' Chlorophora regia'' (syn. '' Milicia regia''). ''

'' is currently listed as 'near threatened' on the IUCN Red List. Both species are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with male and female flowers on separate individuals.

Uses

The timber is used for a variety of external and internal purposes including boat-building, domestic flooring, furniture and outdoor gates. From the late 1990s, it was used as part of the

txalaparta The txalaparta ( or ) is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone. In some regions of the Basque Country, (with ) means "racket", while in others (in Navarre) has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely relat ...

, a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

musical instrument constructed of wooden boards, due to its lively sound. Iroko 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. Iroko wood was the wood chosen for the pews in the Our Lady of Peace Basilica. It is a very durable wood; iroko does not require regular treatment with oil or varnish when used outdoors, although it is very difficult to work with tools as it tends to splinter easily, and blunts tools very quickly. In the UK there are no trade restrictions on the machining of this timber. The only reported adverse effects known to be caused by the dust from iroko are

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

dermatitis Dermatitis is a term used for different types of skin inflammation, 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 ...

and nettle rash.

Cultural beliefs

The tree is feared in some cultures where it originates and hence is shunned or revered with offerings. Yoruba people believe that the tree possess an animating force/spirit (Olúwéré), and anybody who sees the 'Iroko-man' face to face becomes insane and speedily dies. According to the Yoruba, any man who cuts down any iroko tree causes devastating misfortune on himself and all of his family, although if they need to cut down the tree they can make a prayer afterwards to protect themselves. They also claim that the spirit of the Iroko can be heard in houses which use iroko wood, as the spirit of the Iroko is trapped in the wood. 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, ...

the iroko wood is of much lower quality due to soil conditions as well as root-rot. Some Westerners refer to the wood as "poor man's

Gallery

File:Milicia Excelsa ('' Chlorophora excelsa'') (Bangla - আফ্রিকান টিকওক).jpg, Trunk of iroko /

African teak African teak is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *'' Baikiaea plurijuga'', native to the northern Kalahari *'' Milicia excelsa'', also known as iroko, native to Africa from the Ivory Coast to Ethiopia and south to Angola and Moz ...

(Chlorophora Excelsa) in

Lawachara National Park Lawachara National Park () is a national park and nature reserve in Bangladesh, located at Kamalganj Upazila and Moulvibazar District in the northeastern region of the country. It is located within the West Bhanugach Reserved Forest. Lawachara ...

, Bangladesh. 2016.

References

External links

Toxic woods
(HSE) {{Taxonbar, from=Q144717 Wood Trees of Benin Yoruba mythology Plant common names Milicia Moraceae genera Dioecious plants Plants described in 1909