Dalbergia melanoxylon Guill. & Perr.
| Kannada Name : | - |
| Common Name : | African blackwood |
| Family Name : | Fabaceae |
| Scientific Name : | Dalbergia melanoxylon |
| Species Type : | Exotic |
| Phenology : | Deciduous |
| Conservation Status : | Near threatened |
| Flowering Period : | None |
| Fruiting Period : | None |
| Origin : | Africa |
Uses
The roots are used in traditional medicines to treat abdominal pain, diarrhoea and syphilis; the wood smoke is inhaled to treat headaches and bronchitis.
Description
It is a spiny, deciduous shrub or tree, reaching 5‐12 m tall, sometimes up to 30 m with grey bark , heartwood purplish-brown to black. Leaves pinnately compund, 8-20 cm long; 8-12 or more leaflets; leaflets circular to broadly elliptic or obovate, glabrous, slightly pubescent beneath, slightly cordate or cuneate at the base, apex emarginate or retuse, margin entire. Inflorescence a terminal or axillary panicle. Flowers white, fragrant, 3.5-5 mm long. Fruit a pod 3‐7 cm long, elliptic-oblong, glabrous, 1-3 seeded.
