''Musanga cecropioides'', the African corkwood tree or umbrella tree, is found in
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 ...
from
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
south to
Angola
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, capital = Luanda
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and east to
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
. It is typical in
secondary forest
A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...
s.
This tree is also known as ''parasolier'', ''n'govoge'', ''govwi'', ''doe'', ''kombo-kombo'', ''musanga'', and ''musanda''.
Description
''Musanga cecropioides'' can reach a height of with a diameter of . Its trunk has a pale whitish/yellow tone with a rough, granular texture.
Ecology
''Musanga cecropioides'' is a pioneer species and readily springs up in newly cleared patches of forest. In Nigeria it is joined in these locations by the
poison devil's-pepper (''Rauvolfia vomitoria''), the
Ivory Coast almond (''Terminalia ivorensis'') and the
dragon's blood tree (''Harungana madagascariensis''). Five years later, ''M. cecropioides'' has become dominant, with a closed canopy at
Uses
Uses of the wood from the African corkwood tree range from flotation devices, such as rafts, to toys. The wood of the African corkwood tree has a frail concreteness and has a tendency to mold and tarnish easily. The tree has traditional medical uses among the