Milicia

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Milicia
Milicia excelsa

Milicia excelsa

Systematics
Rosids
Eurosiden I
Order : Rose-like (rosales)
Family : Mulberry family (Moraceae)
Tribe : Moreae
Genre : Milicia
Scientific name
Milicia
Sim

Milicia is a genus of plants withinthe mulberry family (Moraceae). The only two species are native to Africa . Trivial names in the home countries and partly trade names for the wood are Iroko , Semli (Sierra Leone, Liberia), Odoum (Ghana, Ivory Coast), Rokko , Oroko (Nigeria), Abang, Mandji (Cameroon, Gabon), Mereira (Angola), Kambala (Zaire), Mvule (East Africa) and African Teak (English).

description

The two types of Milicia are very large trees . The alternate, two-line leaves are simple and pinnate. The two stipules are not fused.

Milicia species are dioeciously segregated ( diocesan ). The flowers are axillary, spike-like inflorescences together with bracts . The unisexual flowers are four-fold with only one bloom circle . The four bracts are fused at their base. The male flowers have four stamens . Many flowers stand together in a female inflorescence. In the female flowers good two thin significantly different lengths are scars visible. The stone fruits in the fruit associations are fleshy and greenish. The seeds ( achenes ) are small.

Occurrence

Milicia species are common in the tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen rainforest , as well as in the savanna forest south of the Sahel from Senegal and Sierra Leone to Mozambique in southern East Africa. Mainly the two come Milicia TYPES in Côte d'Ivoire (Iroko), Ghana (Odum), Nigeria and Cameroon (Kambala) from the Congo in Central Africa as far as Uganda and Tanzania (Mvule) in the East.

Systematics

The genus Milicia was established in 1909 by Thomas Robertson Sim in Forest Flora and Forest Researches of Portuguese East Africa , p. 97. The lectotype species was set by Swart Milicia africana Sim in 1960 . A synonym for Milicia Sim is Chlorophora Gaudich. , Maclura sect. Chlorophora (Gaudich.) Baill.

The genus Milicia Sim belongs to the tribe Moreae in the Moraceae family .

Only two species belong to the genus Milicia :

  • Milicia excelsa (Welw.) CCBerg (syn .: Chlorophora excelsa ( Welw. ) Benth. , Morus excelsa Welw. , Chlorophora alba A. Chev. , Milicia africana Sim )
  • Milicia regia (A.Chev.) CCBerg (Syn .: Chlorophora regia A.Chev. )

use

Iroko wood

Iroko is the trade name of the wood . The wood color is golden brown with a yellowish white sapwood, it tends to darken. The fibers are often wavy and roughly structured. The wood is processed into very valuable weatherproof timber. Iroko is used in economically significant quantities in Africa (approx. 50,000 m³ of round wood per year), mainly processed into sawn timber, planed goods and furniture parts in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon and exported from these countries in economically significant quantities. The wood is unusually weatherproof and very decorative, similar to teak . It is mainly used for parquet, structural elements (windows and doors) as well as furniture and garden furniture. Iroko is about the weight and hardness of oak. The wood and especially the wood dust from Iroko can cause allergic reactions.

Iroko has a market value of around 1400 euros per cubic meter of planed wood, down from 1920 euros. A complete truckload of Iroko garden furniture costs around 40,000 euros in Europe (2006). Of this, over 30,000 euros flow to the producing country. A developing country like Ghana earns over 5 million euros from the export of Iroko (“Odum” there). This corresponds to the annual earnings of over 5000 people (2006). Since at least ten family members are dependent on every worker in Ghana, this figure benefits around 50,000 people in Ghana. This shows the enormous importance of a wood like Iroko. On the other hand, in the opinion of environmental protection organizations, the massive, economic use of this wood contributes to the destruction of the savannah forest and endangers the livelihood of people themselves, but also that of animals.

The fruits are edible.

swell

  • CC Berg: Moraceae in the Flora Zambesiaca , Volume 9, Part 6, 1991: Milicia - online .
  • Leaflet Iroko (PDF; 1.26 MB), on stadtmoebel.de, accessed on November 14, 2016.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Milicia Sim viewed at Tropicos on January 2, 2012.
  2. ↑ a b Milicia Sim viewed at GRIN on January 2, 2012.
  3. ↑ Andrew Duncan, Gwen Rigby: The amateur carpenter - technology of wood processing. German edition in collaboration with the master school Ebern for the carpenter's trade, Orbis Verlag, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-572-00763-1 , p. 200.
  4. ↑ Iroko in Arnhemse fijnhouthandel / Netherlands.

Web links

Commons : Milicia  - collection of images, videos and audio files