Description

A deciduous tree of swamp-forest to 13 m high and low-branching in coastal areas, or to 35 m or more inland with a cylindrical bole to 1.70 m girth (5, 6), in Ivory Coast to Nigeria.This species is confused with M. glabra. The two species share the same name for the timber in Ivory Coast (1). The sap-wood is thick, white, yellowish or pinkish-white: heart-wood is hard, dark red, fibrous, resembling mahogany, and darkening on exposure. It is said to be termite- and borer-proof and durable. It finds local use in house-building and is favoured in northern Ghana, but it is too hard and heavy for ordinary construction purposes, though suitable for piles and possibly for sleepers (3, 5, 6).The bark-slash exudes a red watery gum.The fruit are flattened-obovoid, reddish-brown when dry, up to 5 cm long. They have been called ‘mahogany nut’, a term better applied to this species than to Licania elaeosperma, though the significance of the name is not recorded. The kernel is oily and has a characteristic smell (3, 4). The endocarp of this species is lined with a velvety layer of hairs in distinction from the loose cottony wool filling the loculus cavity in Parinari spp. Whether this is usable as tinder in the same way, or has medicinal usage does not seem to be recorded.