Pterygota macrocarpa

Botanical Description

Pterygota macrocarpa is a deciduous tree with a small, dense crown; it can grow up to 35 metres tall. The cylindrical bole is up to 120cm in diameter, with very large, thin and wavy buttresses[ 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 provides a large bulk of utilisable timber and so is heavily exploited from the wild throughout its range - the wood is traded internationally. The tree also has local medicinal uses. It is sometimes retained as a shade tree in cacao plantations and has been grown as a timber crop in plantations. A common tree of dry forests, regeneration is reported to be abundant in areas of logging damage but exploitation for its timber is occurring at high levels throughout its range and this is likely to be causing population declines. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[ 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. ].