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Mexican weeping pine

Credit: Biovision-Infonet

Scientific name: Pinus patula

Order / Family: Pinaceae

Local Names: Kikuyu (Muchinda nugu), Luhya (Omuyeye)

1. Introduction

General Distribution:

It originated from Mexico and it has spread to many parts of the world. It is probably the most planted pine tree in tropical Africa and generally widespread as a plantation tree.

General Information about the Tree:

It is widely cultivated and makes 30% of all plantation trees in Kenya. It should not be grown near crops due to its shallow root system which makes it to compete with crops for nutrients. P. patula is more suitable for woodlots. Its wood is white to pale brown and light and soft. It finds use in doors, furniture and house ceilings. Wide variations in daily temperatures may result in the wood cracking.

Biophysical Limits:

It is tolerant of most soils and will grow in grassland. While growing best with over 1,000 mm rain and cool climate, it can also grow in more adverse conditions. There are large plantations of this species in western Kenya, the Lambwe Valley and parts of central province. Its spread in agro-ecological zones I – III.

2. Propagation and Tree Management

It may be propagated by sseedlings or wildings. It may be found in plantations and woodlots. P. patula is fast growing, taking 16 to 20 yrs for pulp production and 25 to 30 yrs for timber. Soil for pines should be inoculated by mixing in some soil collected beneath mature pine trees. Pruning and thinning may be done for trees grown in timber plantation.

Products:

• Fuel: it produces excellent fuel wood.
• Fibre: The species is used in the commercial manufacture of pulp, for example in the Paper Mills.
• Timber: The wood is suitable for particle board manufacture and gives a board of good strength, does not appreciably retard the setting of cement and can be used satisfactorily for making wood-wool slabs and boards.
• Gum or resin: When tapped, P. patula yields an oleoresin, which is distilled to give turpentine, and rosin which is used in, for example, paint and batik industries.
• Medicine: Pine-leaf oil is sometimes used for medicinal baths, and the seeds may be consumed locally.

Services:

• Shade; provides shade in areas where is grown.
• Ornamental; it is beautiful and therefore a good ornamental tree.

3. Pests and Diseases

The majority of insect pests that cause damage to P. patula are defoliators, mainly of the order Lepidoptera, the notorious families being Arctiidae, Lasiocampidae, Noctuidaeand Saturniidae. Damage begins from the nursery stage through cutworms, several leaf rollers and defoliators. Plantation pests include leaf-eating adult beetles, adult bark beetles (mottled pine bark weevil) and sucking insects such as pine woolly aphid.Diseases of P. patula include foliage leaf cast, tip die-back of the branches and armillaria root rot.

4. Information Source Links

• Anon. 1986. The useful plants of India. Publications & Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi, India.
• Maundu P. and Bo Tengnas. (2005). Useful trees and shrubs for Kenya, World Agroforestry Centre. ISBN-9966-896-70-8. www.worldagroforestry.org

Last updated.

10/02/2019 – 08:49

Wild date palm

Credit: Biovision-Infonet

Scientific name: Phoenix reclinata

Order / Family: Arecaceae

Local Names: Boni (Gonyooriya); Boran (Meti); Digo (Mchindu); English (wild date palm); Giriama (Mkindu); Kamba (Mukindu); Kikuyu (Mukindu); Kipsigis (Sosiyot); Luhya (Kumukhendu); Marachi (Lushindu); Luo (Othith); Maasai (Oltukai); Malakote (Gedo); Orma (Konchor); Pokomo (Mkindu); Samburu (Lekawai); Sanya (Itkindi); Somali (Alool); Swahili (Mkindu); Taita (Kigangachi); Taveta (Mhongana); Teso (Emusogot); Turk

1. Introduction

General distribution in Kenya:

Found throughout tropical Africa. In high rainfall areas it grows on open rocky hillsides and cliffs, as well as in rain forests, but only along river-courses in dry country. Widely distributed in Kenya; cultivated in towns as ornamental. Often growing in dense clumps along watercourses and at forest edges.

General Information about the Tree:

P. reclinata is a clump-forming palm; it may be solitary but is usually found growing in colonies. It grows throughout tropical Africa in humid lowland woodlands, highland forests and on open, rocky hillsides. It occasionally grows in grasslands with a high water table. The leaf stems (rachis) are used to make traditional beds (Somali). It is over-exploited in northern and north-eastern Kenya for its use in handicrafts.

Biophysical Limits:

Altitude ranges between 0 and 2,600 m and occasionally higher. Mean annual rainfall is between 500 – 1 500 mm and is found in agro-ecological zones II – VII (only riverine in driest areas).

2. Propagation and Tree Management

Seedlings and suckers are used for propagation. You may remove leaf stalks and root suckers for ornamentals. They may be established in mixed systems, amenity gardens, and along watercourses.

Products:

• Food: Buds may be eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable. The heart of the crown is eaten, and the fruit is also edible.
• Fodder: Leaves are eaten by elephants, and the fruit is food for many wild animals.
• Fuel: Wood is suitable for production of charcoal.
• Fibre: Mats, rope, baskets and string can be made from the fibres of young, unexpanded leaves in immature palms, while the midribs of mature leaves are used to make baskets and roofing material. Fibres from the stem are made into brushes and brooms, and in the Cape region of South Africa, leaves are used in making the kilts of Xhosa boys taking part in initiation ceremonies.
• Timber: The wood, which is resistant to white ants and fungi, is used for hut building, making doors, windows and fence posts.Gum or resin: Roots of P. reclinata yield a gum.Tannin or dyestuff: Leaves yield a useful dye, and roots contain tannin.Alcohol: A palm wine can be brewed from the fermented sap obtained from trees.Medicine: Parts of the tree are used as a remedy for pleurisy.

Services:

• It can be used in soil conservation by controlling soil erosion.
• It is also used for ornamental purposes.

3. Pests and Diseases

The tree may be destroyed by the larvae of the butterfly, Zophopetes dysmephilai, which feed on the leaves.

4. Information Source Links

• Beentje HJ. 1994. Kenya trees, shrubs and lianas. National Museums of Kenya.
• Bein E. 1996. Useful trees and shrubs in Eritrea; Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU), Nairobi, Kenya

Last updated.

10/02/2019 – 08:49

Blue Gum

Credit: Biovision-Infonet

Scientific name: Eucalyptus saligna

Order / Family: Myrtaceae

Local Names: Giriama: Kamba (Musilikini); Kikuyu (Mubao, Munyua mai); Kisii (Omoringarnu); Luo (Bao); Swahili (Mtimbao).

1. Introduction

General Distribution:

It is native to Australia and is widely planted in the tropics. In Kenya, is the dominant gum grown in the highlands.

General Information about the Tree:

The species should not be planted near crops as yields are adversely affected. This is a good tree for woodlots. It is an important general-purpose hardwood in Australia, and is favored for construction, flooring, cladding and paneling.

Biophysical Limits:

In Kenya, is the dominant gum grown in the highlands, 1,200 – 2,400 m. It will grow in all but arid areas or those infested by termites. Does well in agro-ecological zones I – III.

2. Propagation and Tree Management

The blue gum is found in plantations, woodlots and shelter belts. Propagation may be done by use of seedlings and direct sowing at site. They are very fast growing on good sites and coppices very well. It takes (15 – 25 yrs) for timber and (5 – 12 yrs) for poles)

Products:

Blue gum tree has many uses which includes; their use for

• Fuel: source of firewood and charcoal.
• Apiculture: Sidney blue gum is not reliable as a honey producer. It is however useful in stimulating colonies and may be helpful in queen-rearing and re-stocking programs. The honey is strongly flavoured, rather dark and frequently lacks density. It does not store well.
• Fibre: Young, fast-grown trees are used for semi-chemical pulp. However, when E. saligna is grown slowly, the heartwood may become difficult to process.
• Timber: The heartwood is red or pink, hard, stiff, coarse textured, usually straight grained, moderately durable, is easy to work and polishes.
• Essential oil: is essential for oil yields. The major compound found in E. saligna is alpha-pinene.

Services:

Reclamation: E. saligna is widely used in reforestation.

3. Pests and Diseases

Natural forests may be severely damaged by psyllids of the genus Spondyliaspis, and the weakened trees may then become more susceptible to attack by the wood borer Xyleborus truncatus. Larvae of Phoracantha semipunctata have caused wood degradation in young plantations in Western Australia. Plantations in northern New South Wales have suffered little from insect attack. However, in scattered patches throughout the coastal area, E. salignahas been killed off by die-back disease. In the nursery, damping-off fungi such as Pythium spp. and Rhizoctonia spp. can reduce seedling survival. E. saligna is resistant to the root rot fungus, Phytophthora cinnamomi.

4. Information Source Links

• Maundu P. and Bo Tengnas. (2005). Useful trees and shrubs for Kenya, World Agroforestry Centre. ISBN-9966-896-70-8. www.worldagroforestrycentre.org

Last updated.

10/02/2019 – 08:49

Mexican cypress

Credit: Biovision-Infonet

Scientific name: Cupressus lusitanica

Order / Family: Cupressaceae

Local Names: Kikuyu (Mutarakwa); Kisii (Omobakora); Luhya (Mudarakwa); Luo (Obudo)

1. Introduction

General Distribution:

It originated from the moist mountain forests of Mexico, in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and US. It was introduced in Kenya before 1910 and is distributed as in the map below;

General Information about the Tree: 

Cupressus lusitanica is also very good at making live fences. It is planted closely together and then trimmed.

Biophysical Limits: 

Altitude: 1000 – 4000 m, 
Mean annual temperature: 12-30 deg. C,
Mean annual rainfall: 800 – 1500 mm
Soil type: C. lusitanica flourishes in deep, moist, well-drained, fertile loams of neutral to slightly acidic reaction.

2. Propagation and Tree Management

Seedlings are used to propagate it. Cupressus lusitanica is fast growing on good sites and moderate on poorer sites. Prune and thin trees in woodlots if objective is good quality timber. It does not coppice well. Occurs in plantations and on boundaries

Products:

• Fuel: C. lusitanica is a good source of firewood light charcoal.
• Timber: It is a source of construction wood and pulp wood and is used for furniture, poles and posts.

Services:

• Shade or shelter: Trees are suitable as windbreaks.
• Ornamental: The beautiful tree can be planted in amenity areas.
• Boundary or barrier or support: It is grown as a live fence.

3. Pests and Diseases

Trees are susceptible to insect pests Acheta assimilis, Agrotis spp., Atta spp., Captotermes crassus, Exophthalmus spp., Phytophaga spp., Platypus spp. and Pypselonotus aratus. The pest most widely known is the timber borer Oemida gahani, which gains entry through surface wounds such as those created by pruning and degrades timber; pruning before trees are 7 years old could contain the problem. The cypress aphid Cinara cupressi attacks trees of the Cupressaceae family in south and central Africa and is fast advancing to Tanzania and Uganda. Pests are controlled using insecticides and biological control techniques, by planting resistant varieties and by legislation prohibiting entry of plant material from infested areas. The most serious diseases are those affecting cambial function and other tissues. In misty and wet weather, trees are susceptible to fungal attack by Monochoetia unicornis. It infects stems of young plants and young shoots of older trees and appears as cankers and local disorganization of newly formed bark, cambial and cortical tissues. Armillaria root rot caused by Armillaria mellea attacks roots and butts of trees and causes rotting, which eventually kills the trees. Pathogens that attack trees include Cercospora seqoiae, Colletotrichum spp., Fusarium spp., Seridium cardinaleand Verticillium.

4. Information Source Links

• Maundu P. and Bo Tengnas (2005). Useful trees and shrubs for Kenya, World Agroforestry Centre.
• www.worldagroforestry.org

Last updated.