Phylloxylon xylophylloides

Botanical Description

Phylloxylon xylophylloides is an evergreen tree that usually grows up to 15 metres tall, occasionally to 20 metres. The bole is usually up to 35cm in diameter, occasionally to 50cm[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The mature tree is actually leafless, the leaf-like structures being formed from flattened stems, or 'phyllodes'[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of a valuable, hard and durable wood. The subpopulation north of Taolañaro in Madagascar contains many individuals but will be felled for the RTZ (QIT) titanium mines in the near future, reducing the known population of this species by at least 20%[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ]. Consequently, the tree has been classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2010)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].