Description and Uses
Peltophorum africanum (Rhodesian black wattle) is a
tropical
tree from
Southern Africa . It is mainly grown for its
timber crops
, which have a
medium shelf life. The crop is harvested by
total removing. It starts flowering after
5 -
8 years. The yield will be
?, but in its top season there will be a yield of
?. Other crop types include;
timber, ornamental, poison herbicide, fuel, fodder, apiculture, The
flower is used as
inedible . The
root is used as "
anti-bacterial, anti-diarrhea, anti-oxidant, " with
betulinic acid (? -
?) as its significant
phytochemical. There is
Rhodesian blackwood seed oil extracted by
solvent extraction from the
tree's
seed/nut yielding
10% -
30% oil. The
tree's wood is called
Rhodesian blackwood and has a density of
580 -
600 kg/m³. Regarding firewood production the
tree's growing speed is
fast, it's energetic value is
4500 ckal/kg and the wood's drying speed is
fast. After
30 years the
tree can be totally removed as it reached its commercial and ecological goal.
Peltophorum africanum has a lifespan of
80 years.
Environmental limitations
The tree is
9 meters tall with a crown of
8 meters wide. The
tree prefers a planting distance of
600 cm and a row distance of
600 cm. It is
very fast growing and
intolerant to shade.
Peltophorum africanum has a
deep root-system and it has symbiotic associations with the
Glomus intraradices and Glomus mosseae fungi
(endo-mycorrhiza). It is
able to fix nitrogen moderately with
"Rhizobiaceae bacteria. The name(s) or string of bacteria include(s)
"Rhizobium leguminosarum ". The
tree's flower-morphology is
hermaphroditic and is pollinated by
bees.
Peltophorum africanum is
evergreen and
not allelopathic and has
no thorns.
Peltophorum africanum thrives in an altitude of
750 to
1600 meters above sea-level
(tropical). The minimum temperature is
-3°C; optimally between
17 -
28°C. The optimal rainfall is
800
mm/year. Without irrigation the annual rainfall should be between
350 -
900mm (L/m²). The optimal soil-pH is between
6.0 -
7.0 in a soil texture of
all. To salt it is
a bit tolerant to wind
tolerant and to fire
a bit tolerant.
Pests and Diseases
Peltophorum africanum is susceptible to the following pests:
Charaxes brainei
, Charaxes ethalion
, Charaxes vansoni
. And it's susceptible to the following diseases:
no disease ,
,
.
Seed Propagation
Seeds are
orthodox and can be stored for
25 months. There are approximative
2250
seeds/kg. The seeds can be propagated as followed:
- (1) Store harvested seeds dry at room temperature
- (2) Soak the seeds overnight in warm water before sowing.
- (3) press the seeds twice its size in the soil soil.
