''Khaya anthotheca'', with the common name East African mahogany, is a large tree species in the

Meliaceae Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarp ...

family, native to tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The name ''anthotheca'' was taken from the Greek word ''anthos'', meaning flower, while ''theca'' refers to a capsule. It is known by a number of other common names, including Nyasaland, red or white mahogany. Oos-Afrikaanse mahonie is the

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

name and acajou is its name in French.

Distribution

It is widespread, occurring from

Guinea Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

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 ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, and south to

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. It is fairly widely grown in plantations within its natural area of distribution, but also in South Africa, tropical Asia and tropical America. It is easily confused with other ''Khaya'' species like '' K. grandifoliola'', '' K. senegalensis'' or '' K. ivorensis'' in the north of its natural range.

Habitat

The East African mahogany grows in medium to low altitude areas in evergreen forests. They require damp lands in order to grow. The Big Tree in

Chirinda Forest The Chirinda Forest Botanical Reserve is situated on the slopes of Mount Selinda, south of Chipinge, in the Chipinge Highlands of Manicaland, Zimbabwe, and is administered by the Forestry Commission. The reserve is situated at between in al ...

is the tallest native tree in

Description

''Khaya anthotheca'' trees may grow between tall. They have greyish-brown bark. On mature trees, white scented flowers are borne at the ends of the branches.

Common uses

It is used for furniture, flooring, paneling and boat building and for musical instrument (e.g. guitar). It is a very suitable tree for these projects because the bark weathers well, is resistant to borers and

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

s, besides fungal decay, and is tough but saws well. The bark has a bitter taste which is often used as a medicine for common colds. The oil from the seeds can also be rubbed into a person's scalp to rid of insects and lice.

Threats

It is often cut down and destroyed in East and West Africa. Planting new trees in these areas to make up for what was destroyed is very rare.

Genetic erosion Genetic erosion (also known as genetic depletion) is a process where the limited gene pool of an endangered species diminishes even more when reproductive individuals die off before reproducing with others in their endangered low population. The t ...

is thought to have occurred as well. Because of this, the species is listed as "vulnerable" on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

. Some of its populations have been offered protection, and some countries placed bans on its export. The foliage is eaten by the larvae of the moth '' Heteronygmia dissimilis''.

References

*Alec Naidoo Pretoria. National Botanical Garden. September 2007

Downloaded October 17, 2012. *Forestry Department

Downloaded October 18, 2012. *Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative

Downloaded October 20, 2012.

External links

* Khaya, anthotheca Trees of Africa Flora of East Tropical Africa Flora of South Tropical Africa Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Flora of Guinea-Bissau Flora of Uganda Flora of Tanzania Flora of Angola Flora of Zambia Flora of Zimbabwe Flora of Mozambique Plants used in traditional African medicine Vulnerable flora of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Meliaceae-stub