Tieghemella heckelii
Tieghemella heckelii
Safety & Hazards
Dust produced from sawing the wood may cause irritation to the skin and mucous membranes[1]. It has been suggested that this is caused by the presence of saponins or the contact allergen 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone[1]. A highly haemolytic saponin has been isolated from the wood[1].
Cultivation Details
Prefers a heavy soil[1]. Young trees are very tolerant of shade, but can survive in full sun, whilst older trees need a sunny position[1]. Initial growth of seedlings is fast, up to 70 cm in 4 months, but then often ceases while a strong taproot (c. 20 cm long) is formed[1]. Growth of the young trees is reported as slow, but strongly depends on the amount of light the plant receives. Under conditions above 40% of full light, growth may be up to 1 metre per year; whilst when light levels fall below 10% growth is almost nil[1]. In Ghana, young trees have been reported to be 1 - 2 metres tall after 1 - 1.5 years in a nursery[1]. However, in western Cote d'Ivoire, trees have been reported to be 3 metres tall after 4 years and 9 - 11 metres tall after 20 years with a stem diameter of 13 - 16cm. Occasional specimens have even reached 28 metres tall after 21 years with a diameter of 37cm. For 35 - 80- year-old trees the mean annual increment is 4 - 8mm[1]. Trees start flowering and fruiting after about 17 years, but sometimes in as little as 10 years[1]. A large tree produces approximately 3,000 - 4,000 fruits at a time[1]. The fruits are eaten by elephants, which are probably the main seed dispersers; bush-pigs are also reported to feed on the fruits[1].
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe since the viability decreases rapidly once the seeds have been removed from the fruit[1]. In the nursery, seeds are usually planted at a spacing of 40 cm × 40 cm under light shade. Seedbeds should be watered well. Germination is over 90% in optimal conditions, and without pre-treatment[1]. Germination begins after about 4 weeks, most seeds having germinated after 10 weeks, but it may continue for 16 weeks[1]. Saplings of about 2.5 years old and 1 - 1.5 metres tall are planted out into the field usually at the beginning of the rainy season, but in western Côte d’Ivoire 0.5 year-old seedlings are used[1]. The seeds are heavy, there are 30 - 50 seeds per kg[1]. Rodents may cause considerable damage to seeds and seedlings (cotyledons)[1]. Air layering. In a test, 39% of branches rooted after 8 weeks[1] Cuttings. The average rate of rooting of branch cuttings after 6 months was 73%[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Tieghemella+heckelii>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
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]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/
- [3]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.
- [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [5]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.