Guibourtia conjugata (PROTA)

The wood is mainly used for fence posts, but is also suitable for flooring, furniture, carving and turnery. In Mozambique it is classified as a precious timber. The semi-fossil resin is traded under the name ‘inhambane copal’ or ‘Mozambique copal’ and is used as a base to produce varnishes.

Properties

The heartwood is dark brown with paler streaks and distinctly demarcated from the pale yellowish sapwood. The grain is interlocked, texture fine. The wood has fairly lustrous surfaces. It is heavy with a density of 950–1100 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content, and hard. In spite of its density, it air dries rather easily and is not difficult to work. It sands to a smooth finish, and glues and varnishes well. Pre-boring is needed for nailing and screwing. The wood is durable and very resistant to fungal and insect attacks.

Description

Deciduous shrub or small to medium-sized tree up to 18 m tall; bole branchless for up to 12 m, up to 75 cm in diameter; bark surface fairly smooth to flaky, pale greyish to yellowish brown; twigs slender, sparsely hairy.
Leaves arranged spirally, paripinnately compound with 1 pair of leaflets; stipules 3–4 mm long, early caducous; petiole 1–2 cm long; leaflets nearly sessile, obliquely ovate, 3–7(–9) cm × 2–4.5(–6.5) cm, base rounded, apex usually rounded, sometimes acute, glabrous, with numerous translucent dots, with 3–4 veins from base of leaflet.
Inflorescence a short axillary or terminal panicle, short-hairy; bracts early caducous.
Flowers bisexual, nearly regular, whitish, fragrant; pedicel 1.5–2 mm long; sepals 4, slightly unequal, c. 6 mm × 2–4 mm, hairy inside; petals absent; stamens 10, free, c. 6 mm long; ovary superior, rounded, c. 1 mm in diameter, glabrous, 1-celled, with short stipe, style c. 3 mm long.
Fruit a slightly oblique elliptical-oblong, flattened pod 3–4 cm × c. 2.5 cm, glabrous, indehiscent or tardily dehiscent, 1-seeded.
Seed broadly elliptical, flattened, c. 2 cm long, shiny brown, without aril.
Seedling with epigeal germination; hypocotyl hairy; cotyledons rounded, leafy.

Other botanical information

Guibourtia conjugata grows slowly. Trees flower from November to January and fruits ripen from June to July.

Guibourtia comprises about 14 species, all African, but a single species occurs in tropical America. The genus is related to Hymenaea and Peltogyne.

Ecology

Guibourtia conjugata occurs in dry forest and woodland, often on rocky localities and river banks, from sea-level up to 1500 altitude. It prefers deep sandy soils.

Genetic resources

It is unlikely that Guibourtia conjugata suffers from genetic erosion because it is fairly widespread and has limited usage. It is protected by law in Mozambique.

Prospects

Guibourtia conjugata is poorly known, but it does not seem to have good prospects as a timber tree of more commercial importance because of the limited amount of trees available in most of its range of distribution, the relatively small bole size, and the apparently low growth rate.

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., 1983. Trees of southern Africa. 2nd Edition. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. 959 pp.

Managed Timber Resources, 1998. Guibourtia conjugata (chacate). [Internet] http://www.african-hardwoods.com/ chacate/. October 2010.

Storrs, A.E.G., 1979. Know your trees: some of the common trees found in Zambia. Forest Department, Ndola, Zambia. 380 pp.

van Wyk, B.E. & Gericke, N., 2000. People’s plants: a guide to useful plants of southern Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria, South Africa. 351 pp.

Other references

Hyde, M.A. & Wursten, B., 2010. Guibourtia conjugata. [Internet ] Flora of Zimbabwe. http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/ speciesdata/ species.php?species_id=126580. October 2010.

Léonard, J., 1950. Notulae systematicae IX. Nouvelles observations sur le genre Guibourtia (Caesalpiniaceae). Bulletin du Jardin botanique de l'Etat (Bruxelles) 20(2): 269–284.

Palmer, E. & Pitman, N., 1972–1974. Trees of southern Africa, covering all known indigenous species in the Republic of South Africa, South-West Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. 3 volumes. Balkema, Cape Town, South Africa. 2235 pp.

Richter, H.G. & Dallwitz, M.J., 2000. Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. [Internet]. Version 4th May 2000. http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta.htm. October 2010.

Ross, J.H., 1977. Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. In: Ross, J.H. (Editor). Flora of southern Africa. Volume 16, part 2. Botanical Research Institute, Department of Agricultural Technical Services, Pretoria, South Africa. 142 pp.

Schmidt, E., Lötter, M. & McCleland, W., 2002. Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park. Jacana Publishers, Johannesburg, South Africa. 702 pp.

Storrs, A.E.G., 1982. More about trees: a sequel to "Know your trees". Forest Department. Ndola, Zambia. 127 pp.

van Wyk, B. & van Wyk, P., 1997. Field guide to trees of southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. 536 pp.

Watt, J.M. & Breyer-Brandwijk, M.G., 1962. The medicinal and poisonous plants of southern and eastern Africa. 2nd Edition. E. and S. Livingstone, London, United Kingdom. 1457 pp.

Author(s)

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

Correct citation of this article

Obeng, E.A., 2011. Guibourtia conjugata (Bolle) J.Léonard. In: 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. Accessed 17 September 2026.

See the Prota4U database.

Guibourtia conjugata (PROTA)

Vernacular names

Origin and geographic distribution

Uses