Afzelia is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
in the subfamily
CaesalpinioideaeCaesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name Caesalpinia....
of the
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
FabaceaeFabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of flowering plants, which is commonly known as the legume family, pea family, bean family or pulse family. The name 'Fabaceae' comes from the defunct genus Faba, now included into Vicia...
(
legumeIn botanical writing legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae , or a fruit of these specific plants. A'legume' fruit is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides. A common name for this type of fruit is a pod, although "pod" is also applied to a few...
s). The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
or
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
.
Afzelia species are used primarily for
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
, though some species also have medicinal uses. The timber is most commonly traded under the collective name "doussie", as well as under name "afzelia". The wood of species
(Afzelia africana),
(Afzelia bipindensis) and
(Afzelia pachyloba) is commercialized under the name "meli".
One of the common names is also "pod mahogany", adding to the confusion surrounding the name
mahoganyThe name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-coloured hardwood, it is an American Indian word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany. Mahogany it was next equally applied to the wood of Swietenia macrophylla,...
.
The
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are red and black and are used as
beadA bead is a small, decorative object that is pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under a millimeter to over a centimeter or sometimes several centimeters in diameter....
s.
The wood is often used as the surface material for outdoor
velodromeA velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
s.
The highly-figured wood of the Asian species,
Afzelia xylocarpaAfzelia xylocarpa is a tree from Southeast Asia. It grows in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma in deciduous forests. It can reach 30 meters tall with a trunk up to 2 meters in diameter in a mature specimen. An alternative Latin name is Pahudia cochinchinensis.The seeds are harvested for...
, is sold as Afzelia xylay.
Discussion
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Afzelia is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
in the subfamily
CaesalpinioideaeCaesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name Caesalpinia....
of the
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
FabaceaeFabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of flowering plants, which is commonly known as the legume family, pea family, bean family or pulse family. The name 'Fabaceae' comes from the defunct genus Faba, now included into Vicia...
(
legumeIn botanical writing legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae , or a fruit of these specific plants. A'legume' fruit is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides. A common name for this type of fruit is a pod, although "pod" is also applied to a few...
s). The thirteen species all are trees, native to tropical
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
or
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
.
Uses
Afzelia species are used primarily for
woodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
, though some species also have medicinal uses. The timber is most commonly traded under the collective name "doussie", as well as under name "afzelia". The wood of species
(Afzelia africana),
(Afzelia bipindensis) and
(Afzelia pachyloba) is commercialized under the name "meli".
One of the common names is also "pod mahogany", adding to the confusion surrounding the name
mahoganyThe name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-coloured hardwood, it is an American Indian word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany. Mahogany it was next equally applied to the wood of Swietenia macrophylla,...
.
The
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are red and black and are used as
beadA bead is a small, decorative object that is pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under a millimeter to over a centimeter or sometimes several centimeters in diameter....
s.
The wood is often used as the surface material for outdoor
velodromeA velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
s.
The highly-figured wood of the Asian species,
Afzelia xylocarpaAfzelia xylocarpa is a tree from Southeast Asia. It grows in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma in deciduous forests. It can reach 30 meters tall with a trunk up to 2 meters in diameter in a mature specimen. An alternative Latin name is Pahudia cochinchinensis.The seeds are harvested for...
, is sold as Afzelia xylay. The seeds and bark of this species are used for medicinal purposes.
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