Erythrina velutina

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Common products:
- Light‑brown, relatively soft hardwood used for construction, furniture, small implements, and fuelwood/charcoal.
- Bark harvested for tannin extraction and for producing natural brown dyes.
- Wood chips or fibers processed into pulp for paper, tissue, and cardboard.
- Leaves and young shoots used as fodder for livestock.

Industrial and craft applications:
- Carved wooden objects, tool handles, inlay work, decorative panels, and interior fittings.
- Small‑diameter poles employed in rural construction, fencing, and scaffolding.
- Wood chips converted to pulp for writing paper, tissue, and cardboard production.

Colorants and tanning:
- Bark provides tannins for leather tanning and yields brown coloration.
- Extracts are used to make natural brown dyes for protein fibers (cotton, wool, silk).

Wood and fiber:
- Air‑dry density ~0.53 g cm⁻³; bending strength ≈55 MPa; modulus of elasticity ≈10 GPa—suitable for interior furniture, paneling, and veneer.
- Low tangential shrinkage (~7 %) reduces warping, making the wood useful for plywood.
- Average fiber length ~1.2 mm and lignin content ~24 % (by dry weight) are characteristic of hardwoods appropriate for pulp and papermaking.

Properties relevant to use:
- Low density and high workability facilitate carving, turning, and machining.
- Moderate cellulose and hemicellulose content (~65 % of dry weight) enable effective chemical pulping.
- Bark tannin level (~12 % of dry weight) provides an effective leather‑tanning agent and a natural brown dye.
- Fast growth and coppicing ability support sustainable harvesting and short rotation cycles.

Standards and regulation:
- Wood mechanical testing follows ISO 13061 series for density, bending strength, and modulus of elasticity.
- Pulp and paper specifications adhere to ISO 22403 (Kappa number determination) and ISO 2470 (pulp bleaching).
- Tannin extracts for leather tanning are governed by EN 15913 (wet‑end chemicals for leather).
- Timber grading and trade comply with national forest product standards (e.g., Kenya’s Forest Service codex for sawn wood grading).

Sustainability and sourcing:
- Naturally occurs in savanna woodlands of East and Central Africa; drought‑tolerant and capable of regenerating from coppice.
- Harvested primarily from natural stands for fuel and small‑diameter construction; limited plantation cultivation.
- Managed harvesting includes selective cutting and promotion of regeneration; listed as non‑protected in national forest inventories.
- Integrated into agroforestry systems for shade, nitrogen fixation, and as a quick‑growing timber source.

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No distribution data was extracted from POWO/KEW yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

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