''Ptaeroxylon obliquum'' is the botanical name for the sneezewood tree. It is native to

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

, including

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, and

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 ...

. It is the only species in the genus ''Ptaeroxylon''.

Background

''Ptaeroxylon obliquum'' is a species from the family Rutaceae which are most abundant in South Africa and Australia. The term ''ptaeroxylon'' is Greek for sneeze and wood, while ''obliquum'' denotes the oblique shape of the leaflets. The wood produces oils containing nieshoutol, which causes violent

sneeze A sneeze (also known as sternutation) is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa. A sneeze expels air forcibly from the mouth a ...

attacks by workers who are exposed to the tree. Though sneezewood is not poisonous, it has been known to cause respiratory complications. It has been linked to

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 ...

rhinitis Rhinitis, also known as coryza, is irritation and inflammation of the mucous membrane inside the nose. Common symptoms are a stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, and post-nasal drip. The inflammation is caused by viruses, bacteria, irritant ...

and mucosal inflammation.

Description

left, 200px, Foliage left, 200px, Male flowers ''Ptaeroxylon obliquum'' is a shrub or medium deciduous tree that stands up to tall. The bark is whitish-grey and smooth when young, but fissured with age. Leaflets are 2.5 x 1.3 cm marked asymmetrically. They are blue-green to dark green in color and crowd near the ends of the rachis in three to seven pairs of leaflets. The flowers on the tree are white to creamy yellow and fragrant. Sneezewood is very dense having a

specific gravity Relative density, also called specific gravity, is a dimensionless quantity defined as the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for solids and liquids is nea ...

of 1040 kg/m³

Uses

Lumber

Sneezewood is an extremely hard and durable

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

wood. It often lasts longer than

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

when used for machine bearings. In the past, sneezewood was used extensively for railway sleepers. It can also be used to make

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

. In

it is used to make

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...

keys. Sneezewood is a very attractive wood with golden

heartwood 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 ...

with light orange figures and is a favorite amongst woodturners. Its scarcity today is due in part of its past use as

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

for

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

tugs. It has been used extensively for

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or net (textile), netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its ...

and telegraph poles as well.

Medicinal

Sneezewood is used for medicinal and ritual purposes. The bark can be used to repel moths or as snuff. The resin has been used to get rid of warts and cattle ticks. The

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

have traditionally made snuff from sneeze-wood to relieve

headaches A headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches. Head ...

References

"Rue." ''Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition'' (2009): 1. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 March 2010. Anderson M.D., Mark. "Toxic Woods and Occupational Lung Diseases." ''Fine Art Photography''. Riparia, 1 May 2000. Web. 11 March 2010. Roux, Dr. J.P. "Ptaeroxylon Obliquum." ''Aluka'', 2003. Web. 03 Ma ..2010. "Ptaeroxylon Oblique", ''Flora of Zimbabwe''. Zimbabwe flora, 14 February 2009. Web. 11 March 2010. Peter Schirmer, The Concise Illustrated South African Encyclopedia 1980, Central News Agency Ltd, {{Taxonbar, from1=Q311852, from2=Q15930617 Cneoroideae Monotypic Rutaceae genera Flora of Southern Africa Flora of South Africa Flora of Zimbabwe Flora of Mozambique Trees of Africa Wood

Background

Description

Uses

Lumber

Medicinal

See also

References