Notes On Mvule ( Chlorophora Excelsa)

Abstract

Mvule, or to use another common vernacular name, Iroko (Cldorophora excelsa) sometimes sold as African or Nigerian teak, but not to be confused with real teak (Teciona grandis), is a large deciduous tree, whose trunk sometimes has small buttresses to a height of about two feet. It attains a height up to 160 ft. with a straight cylindrical. bole 50-80 ft. long and 20-30 ft. in circumference or up to 9 ft. in diameter, diameters of 3-5 ft. being commonest. The crown is large, composed of a few stout widely spreading branches; the bark is thick, ash-grey or brown to almost black, scaling in small reticulate patches towards the base of the trunk. Its distribution is from Sierra Leone to Angola in West Africa, across to East Africa by way of Uganda. the Southern Sudan, Kenya Colony, Pemba Island, Tanganyika, Mafia Island, Nyasaland and Portuguese East Africa. Its altitudinal range is from sea level up to 4,500 ft. It is found scattered in both evergreen and mixed forests and in some parts of the coastal districts of Tanganyika and is a conspicuous feature of the landscape in sisal plantations and areas of native cultivation as also in Busoga, Uganda. Mvule occurs only in secondary forest, and can be taken as an indicator of sites previously occupied by African huts and of old termite mounds. In fact, there is much evidence in Uganda that the composition of the soil plays an important part in'controlling the natural distribution of Mvule and evidence has shown that the tree is calciophilous in Uganda*.