{"id":4574,"date":"2009-03-19T03:28:14","date_gmt":"2009-03-19T03:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.technogypsie.com\/science\/?p=22"},"modified":"2009-03-19T03:28:14","modified_gmt":"2009-03-19T03:28:14","slug":"prunus-africana-red-stinkwood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technotink.net\/science\/prunus-africana-red-stinkwood\/","title":{"rendered":"Prunus Africana: Red Stinkwood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prunus Africana<\/strong>
\naka.: red stinkwood ( Eng. ); rooistinkhout (Afr.); Inyazangoma-elimnyama (Zulu); uMkakase (Xhosa); Pygeum, Iron Wood, (Red) Stinkwood, African Plum, African Prune, African Cherry, Bitter Almond. In other languages where it grows it is known as; in Amharic ‘tikur inchet’, in Chagga ‘Mkonde-konde’, in Kikuyu ‘Muiri’, in Luganda ‘Entasesa’or ‘Ngwabuzito’, in Xhosa ‘uMkakase’, in Zulu ‘Inyazangoma-elimnyama’ and in Afrikaans ‘Rooistinkhout’.
\n<\/em> Kingdom: \tPlantae
\nDivision: \tMagnoliophyta
\nClass: \tMagnoliopsida
\nOrder: \tRosales
\nFamily: \tRosaceae
\nSubfamily: \tSpiraeoideae
\nGenus: \tPrunus
\nSubgenus: \tLaurocerasus
\nSection: \tLaurocerasus
\nSpecies: \tPrunus africana<\/p>\n

Regions: KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Swaziland, Mpumalanga, Zimbabwe, tropical Africa, and montane regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Islands of Madagascar, Sao Tome, Fernando Po and Grande Comore at about 900-3400 m. of altitude.<\/p>\n

The name Prunus is derived from the Latin word which refers to the plum family, and the specific name africana refers to the species’ African origin. This tree appears medium to large in size as a handsome evergreen with a spreading crown of 10 to 25 m when mature as open-branched and pendulous in the forest, shorter with a round crown of 10-20 m. diameter in grasslands. It can become quite huge under frost-free conditions, but is usually medium-sized in gardens. Requires moist climate.<\/p>\n


\nModerately frost-tolerant. The main stem is straight, with dark brown bark, cracking in a characteristic oblong pattern. The leaves are smooth, shiny glabrous and dark green above\/pale green below; prominent midribs, hallow serrated margins, red or pinkish petioles (2 cm), and a crushed fragrance of almonds; alternate, simple, long (8-20 cm), elliptic, bluntly or acutely pointed with a central vein depressed on top and prominent on bottom. Flowers are androgynous often white and very scented, born singly or in sprays up to 70 mm long in the axils of the leaves (October through May) with 10-20 stamens, insect-pollinated, 3-8 cm, greenish white or buff. Fruits are 7-10 mm diameter spherical, wider than long, two-lobed with a seed in each lobe, dull purplish brown or red in branched bunches and is biter in taste (From September through November). Bark is black to brown, corrugated or fissured and scaly in a characteristic rectangular pattern. P>Cultivation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nPlant at the National Arboretum, Washington, D.C.<\/div>\n

Environmental:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cultural:<\/strong> This tree is protected in KwaZulu-Natal because of its bark which is very popular in the medicinal trade. The species has been over-exploited and is becoming rare in most areas. The Durban Municipality and the KZN Nature Conservation Services are engaged in teaching traditional doctors how to propagate and care for most of the plants that are used medicinally in South Africa. The species is used as an ornamental tree in parks and large gardens and for avenues. The timber is a hardwood employed in the manufacture of axe and hoe handles, utensils, wagons, floors and furniture. The wood is tough, heavy, straight-grained and pink, with a pungent bitter-almond smell when first cut, turning mahogony and odorless later.[5]<\/p>\n

Folklore\/Magical Uses: <\/strong> The fissured stem of this tree is popular for its medicinal properties as is the bark. The bark is exploited in Africa on a large scale for its medicinal value. In South Africa the bark is used to treat chest pains. The bark extracts have become popular in Europe for the treatment of benign prostate hypertrophy (Van Wyk et al. 1997). It is also reputed to be very poisonous and to have magical properties. The close-grained, reddish brown wood is occasionally used for furniture, although it does not season well and splits and twists, so its use is limited.<\/p>\n

Medicinal:<\/strong> An extract Pygeum, an herbal remedy prepared from the bark of Prunus africana, is used to treat a benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).[9]<\/p>\n

Bibliography \/ More information:<\/p>\n