English: Chewstick; Boarwood; Manni’ Gum.
Region: tropical America, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Caribbean; tropical Africa, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Angola
Habitat: mixed, evergreen, wet, swampy forest; at sea level up to 2,600 metres; annual temperature from 23 to 27°c; annual rainfall is 650 - 5000 mm; sunny position.
Use: medicine; fruit raw as food; source of resin and wood; ornamental, attractive red flowers; resin, ammonia-soluble khaki dye, for caulking boats, making candles and torches, burning with a bright yellow light; latex from the bark as wax; latex is hardened, burnt and the ash is used as paint; wood for construction, flooring, panelling, carpentry, crates and boxes, railway sleepers, fuel.
BotanySlow-growing, evergreen tree; dense and narrow crown; 15 to 30 metres or more tall
Stem: bole, sometimes supported on stilt roots; long, straight; cylindrical; up to 100 cm in diameter; bark and fruit contain a yellowish resin that becomes black and pitch-like upon exposure to air; heartwood is yellowish, greyish, or greenish brown; mealy appearance; tarry odour when fresh; moderately hard and moderately heavy; moderately durable in the soil; good durability in water; susceptible to termites; very easy to work, hardly dulling cutting edges; somewhat harsh and splintery; may be sawed, planed, turned, shaped, and bored without difficulty; high polish; nailing and screwing are good after pre-boring; gluing is correct.
Flower: attractive, red.
Fruit: fleshy, acidulous, pleasantly, filled with a yellow resin; size of a pigeon's egg.