''Ptaeroxylon obliquum'' is the botanical name for the sneezewood tree. It is native to
Southern Africa, including
South Africa,
Zimbabwe, and
Mozambique. 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 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,
rhinitis 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 of 1040 kg/m
3
Uses
Lumber
Sneezewood is an extremely hard and durable
timber wood. It often lasts longer than
brass or
iron 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 movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
. In
Mozambique it is used to make
xylophone keys.
Sneezewood is a very attractive wood with golden
heartwood 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. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
for
steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
tug
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
s.
It has been used extensively for
fence 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 have traditionally made
snuff from sneeze-wood to relieve
headaches.
See also
*
Southern African Sand Forest
Southern African Sand Forest is a sand forest, or a subtropical forest plant community of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome. It grows on ancient sand dunes in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique. In South A ...
References
[
"Rue." ''Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition'' (2009): 1. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.
]
[
]
[
Anderson M.D., Mark. "Toxic Woods and Occupational Lung Diseases." ''Fine Art Photography''. Riparia, 1 May 2000. Web. 11 Mar. 2010.
]
[
Roux, Dr. J.P. "Ptaeroxylon Obliquum." ''Aluka'', 2003. Web. 03 Ma ..2010.
]
[
"Ptaeroxylon Oblique", ''Flora of Zimbabwe''. Zimbabwe flora, 14 Feb. 2009. Web. 11 Mar 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
