''Albizia glaberrima'' is a
deciduous tree found in
Tropical Africa, it belongs to the family
. It is traded under the name 'white nongo' and it is well distributed in West, Central, East and parts of Southern Africa.
Description
A medium-sized tree that can reach up to 20–30 m in height, it has a flattened crown with foliage spreading like an umbrella.
The trunk is straight and cylindrical but sometimes irregular while the bark is greyish in color and
lenticel
A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the bark of woody stems and roots of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It functions as a pore, providing a ...
late.
Leaves bipinnately compound with 1 to 4 pairs of pinnae, each pinnae having 3 to 6 pairs of leaflets.
Leaflets are oblique to ovate in outline, up to 5–7 cm long and 3 cm wide; petiolules are up to 1–2 mm long, both the petiolules and rachis are thin and devoid of hair.
Flowers are in axillary heads on a peduncle that is up to 4 cm long while the stamens are whitish in color. Fruit is an oblong pod up to 26 cm long and 4 cm wide, yellow-brown in color.
Distribution and habitat
The species occurs in Tropical Africa from Guinea Bissua in West Africa eastwards to Suadan and Southwards to Mozambique, it is also found in Comoros and Madagascar. It is found in semi-deciduous and lowland rain forests, sub montane forests and riparian forests zones.
Uses
In parts of Northern Ghana, extracts are used as a cough suppressant while in Nigeria, stem bark extracts are soaked in water as preparation for a decoction to treat inflammation, pain management and fever. In Tanzania root extracts are prepared to treat
schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...
.
The wood is used in making tool handles, beehives, mortars and in carpentry work for making beds and doors.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15493637
glaberrima
Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa
Flora of Madagascar