An evergreen tree, to 40 m high by over 4 m in girth in humid rain-forest, but less in guinean forest and reaching only 8 m high in limiting conditions (29); in lowlands and into montane situations of 1,000 m elevation; common throughout, locally abundant and often forming nearly pure stands (2), from Senegal to W Cameroons, and widespread across tropical Africa.The tree is used as a shade-bearer in Cinchona plantations (20). It is a rapid grower. In areas of managed forestry, it appears difficult to control and it tends to suppress desirable tree species present with it (24). It often occurs in open farmland and in Sierra Leone in rows which may indicate farm boundaries (24).Sap-wood is creamy-white. Heart-wood is brown. There is no sharp demarcation between the two. The wood is hard and heavy. It sinks when fresh. It is a timber of secondary importance and logging is now not commonly carried out, though it has been traded as sugué from Ivory Coast for shipment to Europe as a substitute for oak. The timber is difficult to work. It is so full of silica that saws blunt rapidly. It is best sawn whilst still green and with special saws. Yet it finds use locally and has potential. It is cut into planks and timbers and made into furniture. If exposed to weathering it is not durable and may be attacked by borers, though if protected it is good for house-timbers. If pressure-treated with preservative, it is excellent for railway sleepers (6–8, 12, 13, 23–27). The wood makes good firewood and charcoal (21). The wood-ash contains tannin, which with tannin from the bark-ash, is used for tanning hides (8, 10, 12, 28).The bark-slash has the smell of sour milk (2), and exudes a watery sap. The bark alone or with other drug plants is taken in decoction in Senegal against diarrhoea and other stomach-disorders (14, 17, 19). The bark pounded, macerated and chewed is applied as a cicitrisant to fresh wounds, especially in circumcision (22). In Sierra Leone a bark-decoction is taken to relieve stomachache, and roasted bark is added to palm-wine to improve its flavour (24). In Ivory Coast a bark-decoction is taken for anaemia and by women during pregnancy as a tonic (3), while in Liberia the inner bark soaked in rum or gin is considered good medicine (7). The bark, together with earth from the fungus-nursery in a termite nest, is taken in Tanganyika for hookworm, and it enters into a treatment of insanity (11). Analysis of Congo material showed a trace of flavones in the stem-bark, and an abundance in the roots, and plenty of tannin in both but no other active principal (19).A root-macerate is taken internally in Senegal for migraine and stomach-pains, and for female sterility. Externally it is used as a haemostatic and cicitrisant. Root-decoctions are prepared for washes, baths, massages and fumigations in tiredness, fevers and chest-pains and rheumatism (14, 15, 19).Steam from a boiling decoction of leafy twigs is considered in Senegal to soothe gingivitis, stomatitis and toothache (14, 17, 19).The flowers are sweet-scented and meliferous. The fruit is ellipsoid 3.25 cm long with a warty surface. The pulp is yellowish when fresh, soft, edible with a flavour not unlike that of avocado pear (Persea americana Mill., Lauraceae). It has been reported to contain 38% sugars (19). There are occasions when it has served as an useful emergency food. Palatability and/or acceptability varies. In Guinea-Bissau they are not much appreciated (9). In Liberia they are highly esteemed (7, 26). In some parts of W Africa the pulp is fermented to an alcoholic drink known as dhiaou and kounangui; the fermented pulp is extracted by water and the sweet liquid is filtered off, concentrated by boiling and then fermented (5; De Wildemian fide 8). An infusion of the fruit is taken as a drink for diarrhoea and dysentery (8). The fruit is sometimes used as forage (25) and on the Nimba Mountain is sought out by wild animals for food (1). The endocarp is filled with a loose cottony wool surrounding the kernel. This is used over tropical Africa as a fire-tinder (30).The kernel is also edible, and is oil-bearing. It is usually eaten after roasting and then mixed with other foods. A fat can be extracted from it, but quickly turns rancid (5, 8). The oil component is a drying-oil (25).The seed shell and pulp of the fruit yield a dye (28).