Description and Uses
Milicia excelsa (Iroko) is a
tropical
tree from
East Africa . It is mainly grown for its
timber crops
, which have a
very long shelf life. The crop is harvested by
total removing. It starts flowering after
10 -
16 years. The yield will be
inapplicable, but in its top season there will be a yield of
40 m in 50 years. Other crop types include;
mulch, timber, fuel, ornamental, . The
shoot is used as
inedible . The
root is used as "
anti-cancer tumor, high vitamin-C content, " with
sucrose (unknown -
unknown) as its significant
phytochemical. There is
inapplicable extracted by
no extraction method from the
tree's
seed/nut yielding
unknown -
unknown oil. The
tree's wood is called
iroko and has a density of
550 -
750 kg/m³. Regarding firewood production the
tree's growing speed is
fast, it's energetic value is
4400 ckal/kg and the wood's drying speed is
medium. After
50 years the
tree can be totally removed as it reached its commercial and ecological goal.
Milicia excelsa has a lifespan of
400 years.
Environmental limitations
The tree is
50 meters tall with a crown of
22 meters wide. The
tree prefers a planting distance of
400 cm and a row distance of
400 cm. It is
very fast growing and
partial shade tolerant.
Milicia excelsa has a
deep root-system and it has symbiotic associations with the
Glomus intraradices fungi
(endo-mycorrhiza). It is
able to fix nitrogen moderately with
"Microbacteriaceae bacteria. The name(s) or string of bacteria include(s)
"Sinorhizobium americanum ". The
tree's flower-morphology is
dioecious and is pollinated by
wind.
Milicia excelsa is
evergreen and
not allelopathic and has
no thorns.
Milicia excelsa thrives in an altitude of
0 to
1600 meters above sea-level
(tropical). The minimum temperature is
-1°C; optimally between
21 -
35°C. The optimal rainfall is
1750
mm/year. Without irrigation the annual rainfall should be between
650 -
2200mm (L/m²). The optimal soil-pH is between
6.0 -
7.0 in a soil texture of
sand. To salt it is
intolerant to wind
intolerant and to fire
intolerant.
Pests and Diseases
Milicia excelsa is susceptible to the following pests:
Phytolyma lata
. And it's susceptible to the following diseases:
(missing data) ,
,
.
Seed Propagation
Seeds are
orthodox and can be stored for
12 months. There are approximative
475000
seeds/kg. The seeds can be propagated as followed:
- (1) Store harvested seeds dry at room temperature
- (3) Remove the seeds from cold to a permanent warm temperature.
- (3) Seeds germinate above ground (epigeous)
