Cultivation Details
Ambali is a tree of low to medium elevations in the tropics, where it can be found from sea level to around 1,650 metres[2]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 32°c, but can tolerate 12 - 38°c[3]. It is not resistant to frost, although older trees survive very light frosts[1]. The plant can survive temperatures down to about -1°c[3]. It prefers a climate with well-defined wet and dry seasons, with a mean annual rainfall in the range 700 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 500 - 2,000mm[3]. Requires a sunny position, even when young[1]. Requires a well-drained, medium to light soil of low to moderate fertility[1]. Tolerates moderate levels of salt in the soil[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 5 - 7.5[3]. Trees do not coppice well, if at all[4]. Growth is slow and variable for at least the first seven years, making it less suitable for growing in plantations[4]. After germination the seedling rapidly develops several shoots and a strong taproot, which may reach to a depth of 1 metre in the first year[1]. The shoots reach about 15 cm length in the first year and often die back in the dry season[1]. The plants enter a suffrutex stage, in which the root expands in size and lateral roots develop in the top 50 cm of the soil, while shoots usually die back to below ground level in the dry season[1]. New shoots develop in the rainy season. This stage may last for 10 years (sometimes up to 25 years) until the root has sufficiently developed to allow the above-ground part of the sapling to survive the dry season[1]. After the suffrutex stage, the growth is fast, up to 2 metres or more in one year, and the tree rapidly reaches a height where it cannot be reached by most browsing animals[1]. Compared to other trees the saplings with a thick corky bark are extremely fire resistant, sometimes surviving temperatures of up to 450°c, and fires contribute to pruning side branches and multiple stems[1]. Trees start flowering when they have a permanent stem of 15 - 20 years old, but full development of fruits usually only starts when trees are about 35 years old[1]. This species is one of several that supply a red resin from their stem. This resin, often known as 'Dragon's Blood' is often used as an external application to treat a range of skin problems and injuries[5]. Dragon's Blood can be obtained from several species in this genus, as well as from three other distinct genera - Dracaena species, Croton species and Daemonorops species[5] 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[6].
Propagation
Seed - although trees can produce ample seed (up to 10,000 fruits/ha are recorded), germination is poor. Under natural conditions only 2% of the seed germinates and half of the seedlings produced die in the first year[1]. Another report gives a totally different story - Seeds not extracted from the pod have a low germination possibly because of physical or mechanical dormancy exerted by the pericarp. The seed itself has only slight physical dormancy. Germination is improved by scarification but even without pre-treatment high germination can be expected[2]. Seeds can be sown in seedbeds and seedlings transplanted into pots, or sown directly in pots. For testing, germination in sand is recommended. The species has both rhizobium and mycorrhizal associations. Inoculation is applicable where these microsymbionts are absent from the nursery soil or planting site[2]. At moisture contents of 4 - 6%, seeds can be stored cold for at least 3 years[1]. The trees can be grown from large cuttings[7]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pterocarpus+angolensis>
Pollinators
Bees
References
- [1]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.
- [2]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
- [3]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.
- [4]Global Tree Campaign - 40 Species in Trade — http://www.unep-wcmc.org/trees/trade/40_species_in_trade.htm ↩︎Information on the habitats, uses and some cultivation notes for 40 species of timber trees.
- [5]A Systematic Review of the Botanical, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile of Dracaena cochinchinensis, a Plant — Jia-Yi Fan et al · 2014 · http://10.3390/molecules190710650 · ISBN 1420-3049 ↩︎
- [6]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.
- [7]Useful Plants of Nyasaland — Williamson J. · The Government Printer, Zomba, Nyasaland. · 1955 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Brief details of the uses of almost 500 species of plants.
- [8]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.
- [9]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
- [10]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.