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| Iroko | |
|---|---|
| |
| Milicia excelsa, Uganda | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Tribe: | Moreae |
| Genus: | Milicia Sim |
| Species | |
Iroko, a Yoruba name(also known as ọ́jị̀ in Igbo language, uloho in the Urhobo language of Southern Nigeria, and as odum in the Kwa languages of Ghana[1]) is a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa that can live up to 500 years.[2] This is the common name for the genus Milicia, in which there are two recognized species, which are closely related: Milicia excelsa and Milicia regia.[3]
The genus name of Milicia is in honour of Milici (19th and 20th centuries), an administrator in Portuguese East Africa (in modern-day Mozambique) who supported the work of the author of the genus, Thomas Robertson Sim.[4] It was first described and published in Forest Fl. Port. E. Afr. on page 97 in 1909.[5]
The tree is known to the Yoruba as ìrókò, logo or loko and is believed to have healing properties.[6] Iroko is known to the Igbo people as ọjị wood.[7] It is one of the woods sometimes referred to as African teak,[8] although it is unrelated to the teak family. The wood colour is initially yellow but darkens to a richer copper brown over time.
- ^ Blench, Roger (2006). Archaeology, language, and the African past. Altamira Press. ISBN 9780759104655.
- ^ Amadi, Pete (1 September 2013). Conflicted Destiny: Chronicle of a Natural Born Warrior. FriesenPress. ISBN 9781460224274.
- ^ D.A. Ofori; M.D. Swaine; C. Leifert; J.R. Cobbinah; A.H. Price (December 2001), "Population genetic structure of Milicia species characterised by using RAPD and nucleotide sequencing L.", Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 48 (6): 637–647, doi:10.1023/A:1013805807957, S2CID 43985297
- ^ Burkhardt, Lotte (2018). "Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen - Erweiterte Edition. Index of Eponymic Plant Names - Extended Edition. Index de Noms éponymiques des Plantes - Édition augmentée". Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen – Erweiterte Edition [Index of Eponymic Plant Names – Extended Edition] (pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2018. ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5. S2CID 187926901. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "Milicia Sim | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Oduyoye, Modupe (29 September 2015). The Sons of the Gods and the Daughters of Men: An Afro-Asiatic Interpretation of Genesis 1-11. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781498235822.
- ^ Onunwa, Udobata R. (27 June 2010). A Handbook of African Religion and Culture. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 9781434953964.
- ^ Stephen (14 June 2023). "Iroko Wood Is African Teak Lumber 2023". Retrieved 20 June 2023.