''Turraeanthus africanus'' is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the family

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 ...

, also known by the common names avodiré, apeya, engan, agbe, lusamba, wansenwa, African satinwood, and African white mahogany.

Nomenclature

Although the species epithet given by

François Pellegrin François Pellegrin (25 September 1881, in Paris's 6e arrondissement – 9 April 1965, in the Hôpital Bichat in the 18e arrondissement) was a French botanist, who specialised in the plants of tropical Africa. He published some 623 plant names ...

in the first publication is ''africana'', it should be amended into masculine form, i.e. ''africanus'' per the ICN (ed. 2017, Art. 62.2 (c)): "Compounds ending in ''‑ceras, ‑dendron, ‑nema, ‑stigma, ‑stoma'', and other neuter words, are neuter. An exception is made for names ending in ''‑anthos'' (or ''‑anthus''), ''‑chilos'' (''‑chilus'' or ''‑cheilos''), and ''‑phykos'' (''‑phycos'' or ''‑phycus''), which ought to be neuter, because that is the gender of the Greek words άνθος, anthos, χείλος, cheilos, and φύκος, phykos, but are treated as masculine in accordance with tradition."

Description

The species is found in

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

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

name is derived from the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Turra (1607-1688) of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, Italy and ''arithos'', a Greek word meaning flower. ''Turraeanthus africanus'' is described as a tree of the

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, typically, 115 ft. (35m), and having a trunk diameter of 2 to 3 ft. (0.6-0.9m). The wood of this tree has a

specific gravity Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water (molecule), wa ...

of 0.48. It is commonly creamy white or pale yellow but will darken upon exposure to ultra-violet light to a golden yellow color. It has an interlocked

wood grain Wood grain is the longitudinal arrangement of wood fibers or the pattern resulting from such an arrangement. Definition and meanings R. Bruce Hoadley wrote that ''grain'' is a "confusingly versatile term" with numerous different uses, including ...

producing various figures: striped, curly, or

mottle Mottle is a pattern of irregular marks, spots, streaks, blotches or patches of different shades or colours. It is commonly used to describe the surface of plants or the skin of animals. In plants, mottling usually consists of yellowish spots o ...

Uses

Avodire wood has long been valued in furniture for its naturally lustrous surface, which has led to the name African Satinwood. Commonly, the highly figured wood is used for

veneer Veneer may refer to: Materials * Veneer (dentistry), a cosmetic treatment for teeth * Masonry veneer, a thin facing layer of brick * Stone veneer, a thin facing layer of stone * Wood veneer, a thin facing layer of wood Arts and entertainment * ' ...

s in

panelling Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

and

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furn ...

. A preparation from the bark of this plant is used by Baka people in southeastern Cameroon to stun fish.HUNTING ACTIVITIES IN FOREST CAMPS AMONG THE BAKA HUNTER-GATHERERS OF SOUTHEASTERN CAMEROON, African Study Monographs, 29(2): 73-92, July 2008
/ref>

Conservation

It listed 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 ...

as vulnerable, and is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

References

africanus Africanus is Latin for "African". It may refer to: People Ancient Roman cognomen * Africanus Fabius Maximus, the younger son of Quintus Fabius Maximus (consul 45 BC) and an unknown wife * Cresconius Africanus, a Latin canon lawyer of uncertain dat ...

Trees of Africa Flora of Angola Flora of Benin Flora of Cameroon Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Flora of Ivory Coast Flora of Equatorial Guinea Flora of Ghana Flora of Nigeria Flora of Sierra Leone Flora of Uganda Vulnerable flora of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Meliaceae-stub