Dalbergia melanoxylon Guill. & Perrott.

Leguminosae

Common names

African blackwood, Grenadilla, Mpingo

Description

Small very branched deciduous tree, up to 6 m high, with a bole reaching a diameter of 20-30 cm, with a narrow, open canopy, bark whitish. Twigs whitish, glabrous, terminal thorns 0.5-5.0 cm long ; there are thornless individuals. Leaves on older branches, alternate, imparipinnate, 5-10 cm long, with 9-13 opposite or sub-alternate leaflets , obovate to elliptic 1-3.5 cm long x 1-2 cm wide, with a troncate or emarginate tip. Leaves glabrous or nearly so, petiolets up to 0.3 cm long. Nervation pinnate or more or less palmate having 7-12 pairs of secondary, little conspicuous nerves, tertiary nerves hardly visible, reticulate. Flowers white 0.5 cm long, in axillary panicles reaching a length of 10 cm., fragrant ; flowering occurs from March to July. Pods elliptic 3-6 cm long x 1-1.5 cm wide, dark, glabrous, acuminate at both ends, usually one seed per pod, occasionnally up to 4. There are 16,000 seeds per kg.

Habitat

On well watered soils, common along water courses, in alluvial depressions and around ponds.

Distribution

In Sudanian savannas, not very common, in the South Sahel from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Very common around lake Chad and the Oursi pond in Burkina-Faso, also common in East and South Africa arid and semi-arid lands, extending to India.

Products & uses

The trunk is more or less twisted ; it is therefore difficult to obtain straight lengths of this very desirable wood. Wood is black (hence the name), with a fine texture and straight grain, specific weight of dry wood is 900 to 1200 kg / m ³. Very difficult to work, blunting tools, but excellent for turning, and very in much demand for the making of wind musical instruments. Resistant to insect attacks, very much used for making handicraft items, becoming rarer and rarer ; it is the "Ebony" of ancient Egypt. Reaches the highest price amongst all Sahel timber. In afforestation growth is slow (35 cm / yr over a period of 8 years in Bambey, (Senegal) with a survival rate of 85 %. Pods consumed by livestock. Bark and roots, frequently combined with baobab fruits, are used to cure diarrhoea and syphilis. The tree has magic connotations.

References

Aubréville 1950 ; Dalziel 1955 ; Dale & Greenway 1961 ; Gillett et al. 1971 ; Kerharo & Adam 1974 ; Giffard 1974a ; Berhaut 1975 ; Baumer 1975 ; Geerling 1982/88 ; Von Maydell 1983/86 ;  Dommergues et al. 1999.