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Fabaceae FAMILY

Erythrophleum ivorense

Erythrophleum ivorense

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

The seed and bark are poisonous if ingested[1]. The bark, and sometimes the seeds, are widely used as hunting and ordeal poison[2]. The bark is used as fish poison[2]. The sawdust may irritate mucous membranes and may cause allergy and asthma of labourers in sawmills[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

Requires a sunny position[2]. In Cote d'Ivoire the mean annual bole diameter increment has been recorded as 6.5mm; in the Central African Republic it is 4.5mm[2]. The logs sink in water and so cannot be transported by floating along a river[2]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[3].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a sunny position in a nursery seedbed[2]. Germination usually takes place within 3 weeks[2]. Inoculating the soil with Bradyrhizobium bacteria is beneficial and results in increases in height and diameter of about 40% after 4 months[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Erythrophleum+ivorense>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
  2. [2]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.