Entandrophragma utile

Botanical Description

Sipo mahogany is a lage, briefly deciduous tree with a regular crown comprised of a few massive branches; it can grow up to 55 metres tall, with occasional specimens reaching 65 metres. The straight, cylindrical bole can be free of branches for up to 40 metres, up to 200 - 300cm in diameter, with blunt buttresses up to 3 metres high, sometimes extending into large surface roots[ 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. , 303 Title World Agroforesty Centre Publication Author Website http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc. , 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ]. Harvested locally for medicinal use, the tree is heavily exploited commercially for its valuable timber which is exported to countries around the world[ 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. , 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. ]. This widespread species is heavily exploited throughout its range. Genetic erosion caused by the depletion of mature individuals from subpopulations has taken place in most countries. Local overcutting is also common in parts of West Africa. Growth rates are amongst the slowest in the genus and the seeds and seedlings suffer high mortality rates because of insect attack[ 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. ]. The tree has therefore been classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2009)[ 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. ].