Brachystegia spiciformis

Family

Caesalpiniaceae (Leguminosae - Caesalpinioideae)

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Chromosome number

2n = 24

Synonyms

Brachystegia lujae De Wild. (1920).

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Vernacular names

Bean-pod tree (En). Messasa (Po). Myombo, mriti, mrihi (Sw).

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Origin and geographic distribution

Brachystegia spiciformis is distributed from southern and eastern DR Congo, south-eastern Kenya, Tanzania and Angola southward to Zimbabwe, Mozambique and northernmost South Africa.

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Uses

The wood of Brachystegia spiciformis is used for construction, door frames, canoes, cheap furniture, railway sleepers (if treated), utensils and beehives. It is suitable for flooring, joinery, interior trim, mine props, vehicle bodies, boxes, crates, food containers, veneer, plywood and pulp for paper. It is equally important as a source of firewood and charcoal, being among the preferred species for charcoal making throughout southern Africa.
The bark is used to make beehives, the inner bark to make rope for roof ties, sacks, cloth and grain bins. In Tanzania thread is made from the roots. The bark is astringent, containing about 13% tannin, and an extract of it is used traditionally as a final dressing in tanning hides. It imparts a reddish colour to the finished product. In traditional medicine, root infusions provide treatment for dysentery and diarrhoea, and a decoction is applied as an eyewash to treat conjunctivitis. The bark is chewed as a treatment of snake bites.
The tree is a source of nectar for bees and the leaves are used as fodder. The trees are famous for the attractive pink, wine red, copper and bronze colours of their new foliage and are suitable for amenity planting; their crowns provide fine shade.

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Production and international trade

The wood and charcoal of Brachystegia spiciformis is mainly used and traded locally, and is only traded internationally in mixed consignments.

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Properties

The heartwood is variable in colour, from pale brown to reddish brown, darkening on exposure, sometimes striped, and clearly demarcated from the pale cream to white, 5–12 cm thick sapwood. The grain is interlocked, texture coarse.
The wood is fairly heavy, with a density of 680–915 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content. It air and kiln dries slowly with some tendency to warping, surface checking and splitting at ends and knots, but more serious drying defects have also been reported. It takes about 13 weeks to air dry 2.5 cm thick boards from 60% to 13% moisture content and about 4 weeks for kiln drying. The rates of shrinkage from green to oven dry are 2.9–4.1% radial and 4.3–5.8% tangential. Once dry, the wood is moderately stable in service.
At 12% moisture content, the modulus of rupture is 88–125 N/mm², modulus of elasticity 11,100–14,400 N/mm², compression parallel to grain 60–69 N/mm², shear 11–16 N/mm², cleavage 15–16 N/mm, Janka side hardness 6620–8140 N and Janka end hardness 6850–7920 N.
Because of its hardness and interlocked grain, the wood is difficult to saw and work with both hand and machine tools, with a moderate to severe blunting effect on saw teeth and cutting edges. The interlocked grain makes it liable to tear on planing, and a reduced cutting angle of 10°, a slow feeding speed and the use of a filler are recommended to obtain a smooth surface. Moulding properties are poor. Mortising is difficult with hand tools but easy with a chain mortiser; drilling is easy, but breaking may occur at unsupported ends. The wood sands to a good finish and polishes well. It has a strong tendency to split on nailing, making pre-boring necessary. The bending properties are poor.
The wood not durable and is liable to attack by termites, pinhole borers and marine borers; especially the sapwood is susceptible to staining fungi. The heartwood is difficult to impregnate with preservatives even by pressure, the sapwood can be satisfactorily impregnated when a prolonged pressure treatment is used. The wood is not well suited for paper making because it is difficult to chip and the yield of pulp by the sulphate process is low, whereas the yield of bleached pulp is very low.
The wood contains 50–57% cellulose, 27.5–31% lignin, 16.5–18% pentosan and 0.9–1.3% ash. The solubility is 2.2–5.1% in alcohol-benzene, 2.2–4.0% in hot water and 14–18% in a 1% NaOH solution.
In traditional charcoal making in Tanzania, the average yield of marketable charcoal from Brachystegia spiciformis wood with 40–50% moisture content was about 90 kg per m³. The foliage is of intermediate value as forage. The rumen degradability is 0.4–0.5. Young leaves contain per 100 g dry matter approximately: digestible dry matter 52 g, crude protein 18 g and energy 760 kJ; for old leaves: digestible dry matter 60 g, crude protein 11 g and energy 870 kJ.

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Botany

Deciduous or semi-evergreen, small to fairly large tree up to 35(–40) m tall; bole branchless for up to 15 m, straight and cylindrical or poorly formed, up to 120 cm in diameter, without buttresses but sometimes fluted at base; bark surface smooth, grey to greyish brown, often flaking off in thick scales, in older trees becoming shallowly fissured, inner bark reddish; crown rounded but becoming flattened in older trees, with spreading branches; twigs glabrous or slightly hairy. Leaves alternate, paripinnately compound with 2–8 pairs of leaflets; stipules 1–4 cm long, usually caducous; petiole 1–5 cm long, thickened at base, rachis (3–)5–15(–18) cm long, grooved and slightly winged; leaflets opposite, ovate to elliptical, oblong or lanceolate, 1.5–20 cm × 0.5–8 cm, basal pair of leaflets smallest, obliquely rounded, truncate or cordate at base, acute to rounded or notched at apex, glabrous or slightly hairy, pinnately veined but with 3–5 basal veins. Inflorescence a terminal or axillary panicle up to 8 cm long, glabrous to short-hairy. Flowers bisexual, nearly regular, small, fragrant, at base with 2 obovate to rounded bracteoles 0.5–1 cm long; pedicel 2–8 mm long; sepals 0–4, slightly unequal, 0.5–3 mm long, nearly glabrous; petals absent; stamens 10, fused at base, 1–2 cm long; ovary superior, ellipsoid, 2–5 mm long, with stipe up to 6 mm long, hairy, style slender, up to 1.5(–2) cm long, coiled. Fruit an oblong to obovoid, flattened pod 8–15(–20) cm × 3–5 cm, at a right angle to the stipe, smooth but slightly wrinkled, slightly winged along one suture, dark brown to purplish brown, dehiscent with 2 woody valves, up to 6-seeded. Seeds oblong to ovoid, 1.5–2.5 cm long, dark brown.
Brachystegia is a taxonomically difficult genus comprising about 30 species, distributed in mainland tropical Africa and South Africa, the majority of species occurring in southern tropical Africa, where they are characteristic of miombo woodland.
Brachystegia spiciformis is extremely variable in leaf and inflorescence characters. It is slow growing, and may become a fairly large tree in wetter savanna and woodland, but remains a small stunted tree in dry areas. The taproot can reach a depth of more than 5 m and laterally the root system can extend over more than 25 m. Flowering and fruiting do not always occur every year and depend on the climatic conditions. In southern Africa, flowering usually occurs in August–November. The flowers are much visited by bees, which probably pollinate them. After pollination, fruit development takes 7–8 months. At the end of the dry season seeds are scattered when dry fruits split open explosively.

Description

Other botanical information

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Growth and development

Ecology

Brachystegia spiciformis occurs in coastal and upland deciduous woodland and open forest, up to 2000(–2350) m altitude. It is characteristic of miombo woodland, where it is often dominant in higher rainfall areas. It can be found on hill slopes and river banks, but also on intensely drained and very poor and shallow soils. The annual rainfall in the area of distribution ranges from 500 mm to 1200 mm. Brachystegia spiciformis is frost and fire tender.

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Propagation and planting

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Management

At the end of the dry season seeds are scattered when dry pods split open explosively. The weight of 1000 seeds is 375–670 g. Under favourable conditions, germination takes 3–4 weeks with a germination rate of about 80%. No seed treatment is needed, but germination is better when seeds are nicked. Seed can be stored for one year if kept free from insects. Under natural conditions, root suckers play a minor role and recruitment under large trees is almost exclusively due to seedlings.
In previously cultivated rangeland in Zimbabwe, regeneration of Brachystegia spiciformis was mainly from coppices and less vigorous than that of Julbernardia globiflora (Benth.) Troupin, a co-dominant tree in the original miombo vegetation. Trees produced less coppice shoots when cut at 5 cm above the ground than when cut at a higher level. Under regular cultivation, Brachystegia spiciformis is likely to become less common. Its growth is strongly affected by heavy browsing by goats, but grazing cattle have a less pronounced effect. Although many insects have been found feeding on Brachystegia spiciformis and trees may occasionally be defoliated, no serious pests or diseases have been described.
Care should be taken in harvesting old boles because heart rot may be present and ring shakes frequently arise immediately after felling, sometimes for the whole length of the log. To avoid blue stain and insect attacks logs should be treated with preservatives or converted soon after felling.

Genetic resources and breeding

Brachystegia spiciformis is widespread and in many localities dominant. Its genetic diversity is considered to be at low risk, although it is locally heavily exploited for timber, charcoal and fuelwood.

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Prospects

Brachystegia spiciformis is likely to remain a general-purpose timber of local importance, although it is difficult to work and not durable. More attention has to be given to its role as a source of fuel and charcoal in view of its economic importance and conservation needs.

Major references

• Brummitt, R.K., Chikuni, A.C., Lock, J.M. & Polhill, R.M., 2007. Leguminosae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. In: Timberlake, J.R., Pope, G.V., Polhill, R.M. & Martins, E.S. (Editors). Flora Zambesiaca. Volume 3, part 2. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 218 pp.
• Coates Palgrave, K., 2002. Trees of southern Africa. 3rd Edition. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. 1212 pp.
• Lovett, J.C., Ruffo, C.K., Gereau, R.E. & Taplin, J.R.D., 2007. Field guide to the moist forest trees of Tanzania. [Internet] Centre for Ecology Law and Policy, Environment Department, University of York, York, United Kingdom. http://celp.org.uk/ projects/ tzforeco/. Accessed November 2011.
• Mbuya, L.P., Msanga, H.P., Ruffo, C.K., Birnie, A. & Tengnäs, B., 1994. Useful trees and shrubs for Tanzania: identification, propagation and management for agricultural and pastoral communities. Technical Handbook 6. Regional Soil Conservation Unit/SIDA, Nairobi, Kenya. 542 pp.
• Orwa, C., Mutua, A., Kindt, R., Jamnadass, R. & Simons, A., 2009. Agroforestree database: a tree reference and selection guide. Version 4.0. [Internet] World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ resources/databases/ agroforestree. Accessed November 2011.

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Other references

• Campbell, B. (Editor), 1996. The miombo in transition: woodlands and welfare in Africa. Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia. 266 pp.
• Chinuwo, T., Gandiwa, E., Mugabe, P.H., Mpofu, I.D.T. & Timpong-Jones, E., 2010. Effects of previous cultivation on regeneration of Julbernardia globiflora and Brachystegia spiciformis in grazing areas of Mupfurudzi Resettlement Scheme, Zimbabwe. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 27(1): 45–49.
• Dale, I.R. & Greenway, P.J., 1961. Kenya trees and shrubs. Buchanan’s Kenya Estates Limited, Nairobi, Kenya. 654 pp.
• Ernst, W.H.O., 1998. Seed and seedling ecology of Brachystegia spiciformis, a predominant tree component in miombo woodlands in South Central Africa. Forest Ecology and Management 25(3 4): 195–210.
• Grundy, J.M., Campbell, B.M. & Frost, P.G.H., 1994. Spatial pattern, regeneration and growth rates of Brachystegia spiciformis and Julbernardia globiflora. Vegetatio 115: 101–107.
• Herd, A.R.C., 2007. Exploring the socio-economic role of charcoal and the potential for sustainable production in the Chicale Regulado, Mozambique. MSc thesis, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. 76 pp.
• Luoga, E.J., Witkowski, E.T.F. & Balkwill, K., 2000. Economics of charcoal production in miombo woodlands of eastern Tanzania: some hidden costs associated with commercialization of the resources. Ecological Economics 35(2): 243–257.
• Nshubemuki, L. & Mbwambo, L., 2007. Trees to promote in the management of miombo woodlands in Tanzania: Species, sizes and qualities. [Internet] MITMIOMBO – Management of Indigenous Tree Species for Ecosystem Restoration and Wood Production in Semi-Arid Miombo Woodlands in Eastern Africa. Proceedings of the First MITMIOMBO Project Workshop held in Morogoro, Tanzania, 6th–12th February 2007. Working Papers of the Finnish Forest Research Institute 50: 57–63. http://www.metla.fi/ julkaisut/workingpapers/2007/ mwp050.htm. Accessed November 2011.
• Saidi, T.A. & Tshipala-Ramatshimbila, T.V., 2006. Ecology and management of a remnant Brachystegia spiciformis (miombo) woodland in north eastern Soutpansberg, Limpopo povince. South African Geographical Journal 88(2): 205–212.
• Topps, J.H., 1997. Nutritive value of indigenous browse in Africa in relation to the needs of wild ungulates. Animal Feed Science and Technology 69(1–3): 143–154.

Afriref references

Author(s)

•	L.P.A. Oyen PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands
•	D. Louppe CIRAD, Département Environnements et Sociétés, Cirad es-dir, Campus international de Baillarguet, TA C 105 / D (Bât. C, Bur. 113), 34398 Montpellier Cédex 5, France

Editors

•	R.H.M.J. Lemmens PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands
•	D. Louppe CIRAD, Département Environnements et Sociétés, Cirad es-dir, Campus international de Baillarguet, TA C 105 / D (Bât. C, Bur. 113), 34398 Montpellier Cédex 5, France
•	A.A. Oteng-Amoako Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), University P.O. Box 63, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana

Associate editors

•	E.A. Obeng Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), University P.O. Box 63, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana

Photo editor

•	G.H. Schmelzer PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Oyen, L.P.A. & Louppe, D., 2012. Brachystegia spiciformis Benth. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. Lemmens, R.H.M.J., Louppe, D. & Oteng-Amoako, A.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>. Accessed .

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