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Pterocarpus angolensis
Also called Kiaat, Mukwa, Kiaat Bloodwood, Transvaal Teak, Bloodwood Tree, Sealing Wax Tree, Wild Teak
Bleedwood (Pterocarpus angolensis) is a deciduous tree of southern and eastern Africa, usually 16 m tall, with orange-yellow flowers and a flat, papery seed pod. It grows best in warm, frost-free areas with a clear wet and dry season, in deep sandy or well-drained soils.
Pterocarpus angolensis (African teak, wild teak, Portuguese: Girassonde, Afrikaans: Kiaat, Sotho: Morôtô, Tswana: Mokwa, Venda: Mutondo, Shona: Mukwa, Tsonga: Mvhangase, Ndebele: Umvangazi, Shona: Mubvamaropa, Zulu: Umvangazi) is a species of Pterocarpus native to southern Africa, in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. It is a protected tree in South Africa. The name Kiaat, although Afrikaans, is sometimes used outside South Africa as well. In Zimbabwe, depending on the region, it is known as Mukwa (which it is also called in Zambia) or Mubvamaropa.
Pterocarpus angolensis grows in southern and eastern Africa over a wide range of localities where there is a dry season contrasting with a wet season. It grows best where it is warm and free of frost. The soil type must be deep sandy soil or well drained rocky slopes where the rainfall is above 500 mm per year. It grows well in areas of open woodland such as the Mashonaland plateau in Zimbabwe and northern Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa, where it assumes a broad crown with heavy branches, and is a pioneer species on woodland and forest margins. The best specimens grow in the seasonal closed woodland of central Mozambique and parts of Malawi, where they sometimes form pure stands.
There are several uses for the wood of P. angolensis. The brown heartwood is resistant to borer and termite, is durable and has a pleasing spicy fragrance. The wood polishes well and is well known in tropical Africa as Mukwa when used to make good quality furniture that has an attractive light brownish-yellow colour. It can also be used for curios, and implements. Since the wood does not swell or shrink much it is great for canoe building. Furniture and curios are often made from the reddish sapwood. The colour of the sapwood is a result of the remarkable, dark red sap of the plant; an alternative name of Bloodwood rises from this. This wood also produces a rich, resonant sound and can be made into many different musical instruments. In Zimbabwe, the mbira is traditionally made from mukwa.
East Indian mahogany · Barwood · Pterocarpus · Small Leaved Bloodwood · Malabar kino · Dragonsblood tree · Red sandalwood · Barwood · Pterocarpus
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pterocarpus angolensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
