Cultivation Details
A plant of drier areas in the tropics, where it can be found at elevations from 450 - 1,100 metres. It is found in areas with a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,200mm and mean annual temperatures of 20 - 32°c[2, 1]. The plant is found in the wild in deep sandy soils and more or less rocky soils[3]. The tree is very tolerant of bush fires[3]. The plant is very sensitive to bush fires and is often found wild in a fire-mutilated state[1].
Propagation
Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Entada+africana>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Trees and Shrubs of the Sahel. Their Characteristics and Uses. — von Maydell H. · Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit; Germany · 1990 · ISBN 3-8236-1198-4 ↩︎A well-researched book, usually with more than one photograph of each species and good information on the plant and its uses.
- [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
- [3]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
- [4]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
- [5]Traditional Vegetables in Benin — Achigan-Dako E. Et al · Darwin Initiative; International Foundation for Science · 2009 ↩︎Issued as a PDF on the Internet, it contains basic information on over 250 species of plants used for food in Benin.
- [6]Grassland Species - Profiles — http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/Default.htm ↩︎Terse information on over 650 species of plants that grow in grassland, including trees, shrubs and perennial plants as well as grasses. Gives a brief description of the plant, its range and habitat and some of its uses.
- [7]Green Manures and Manuring in the Tropics — Sornay P. De. Translated by Flattely F.W. · John Bale, Sons and Danielsson Ltd.: London · 1916 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎An excellent work on the subject, even if it was written almost 100 years ago. It also includes a section of useful Legumes. Can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [8]The Leguminosae; A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation — Allen O.N.; Allen E.K. · University of Wisconsin · 1981 · ISBN 0-333-32221-5 ↩︎An amazing and comprehensive work, giving a brief guide to the many genera of the family Fabaceae and also the principle uses of the genus.
- [9]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
- [10]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎