Musanga cecropioides

Musanga cecropioides, the African corkwood tree or umbrella tree, is found in tropical Africa from Sierra Leone south to Angola and east to Uganda. It is typical in secondary forests.

This tree is also known as parasolier, n'govoge, govwi, doe, kombo-kombo, musanga, and musanda.

Description

Musanga cecropioides can reach a height of with a diameter of up to . Its trunk has a pale whitish/yellow tone with a rough, granular texture. Its leaves have palmately arranged leaflets, up to twenty-six together, forming an eccentric circle up to Template:Cvt diameter. The lowest and largest leaflet is up to Template:Cvt long by Template:Cvt wide.

Ecology

Musanga cecropioides is a pioneer species and readily springs up in newly cleared patches of forest. In Nigeria it is joined in these locations by the poison devil's-pepper (Rauvolfia vomitoria), the Ivory Coast almond (Terminalia ivorensis) and the dragon's blood tree (Harungana madagascariensis). Five years later, M. cecropioides had become dominant, with a closed canopy at

Uses

Uses of the wood from the African corkwood tree range from flotation devices, such as rafts, to toys. The wood of the African corkwood tree has a frail concreteness and has a tendency to mold and tarnish easily. The tree has traditional medical uses among the Bantu peoples of the Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

External links

• USDA Forest Service Technical Fact Sheet: Musanga cecropioides
• Gallery

Gallery

• Foliage
  Foliage
• Female flower
  Female flower
• Male flower
  Male flower