Iroko (Yoruba: Ìrókò) is a largehardwood tree from the west coast of tropicalAfrica that can live up to 500 years.[1] This is the common name for the genusMilicia, in which there are two recognized species, which are closely related:Milicia excelsa andMilicia regia.[2]
The genus name ofMilicia is in honour of Milici (19th and 20th centuries), an administrator in Portuguese East Africa (in modern-dayMozambique) who supported the work of the author of the genus,Thomas Robertson Sim.[3] It was first described and published in Forest Fl. Port. E. Afr. on page 97 in 1909.[4]
The tree is known to theYoruba asìrókò,logo orloko and is believed to have healing properties.[5] Iroko is known to theIgbo people asọjị wood.[6] It is one of the woods sometimes referred to asAfrican teak,[7] although it is unrelated to theteak family. The wood colour is initially yellow but darkens to a richer copper brown over time.
The timber is used for a variety of external and internal purposes[17] including boat-building, domestic flooring, furniture and outdoor gates. From the late 1990s, it was used as part of thetxalaparta, aBasque musical instrument constructed of wooden boards, due to its lively sound.[18] Iroko is one of the traditionaldjembe woods. Iroko wood was the wood chosen for thepews in theOur Lady of Peace Basilica.[19]
It is a very durable wood;[20] iroko does not require regular treatment with oil or varnish when used outdoors, although it is very difficult to work with tools as it tends to splinter easily, and blunts tools very quickly.[21]
In the UK there are no trade restrictions on the machining of this timber. The only reported adverse effects known to be caused by the dust from iroko areasthma,dermatitis and nettle rash.[22]
The tree is feared in some cultures where it originates and hence is shunned or revered with offerings.[23]Yoruba people believe that the tree possess an animating force/spirit (Olúwéré), and anybody who sees the 'Iroko-man' face to face becomes insane and speedily dies.[24] According to the Yoruba, any man who cuts down any iroko tree causes devastating misfortune on himself and all of his family,[24] although if they need to cut down the tree they can make a prayer afterwards to protect themselves.[25]
They also claim that the spirit of the Iroko can be heard in houses which use iroko wood, as the spirit of the Iroko is trapped in the wood.[24] InNigeria the iroko wood is of much lower quality due to soil conditions as well as root-rot.[26][27][28] Some Westerners refer to the wood as "poor man'steak".[29]
^D.A. Ofori; M.D. Swaine; C. Leifert; J.R. Cobbinah; A.H. Price (December 2001), "Population genetic structure ofMilicia species characterised by using RAPD and nucleotide sequencing L.",Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution,48 (6):637–647,Bibcode:2001GRCEv..48..637O,doi:10.1023/A:1013805807957,S2CID43985297
^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] (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin.doi:10.3372/epolist2018.ISBN978-3-946292-26-5.S2CID187926901.
^Wooding, Charles J. (1981).Evolving culture: a cross-cultural study of Suriname, West Africa, and the Caribbean. Washington, D.C: University Press of America.ISBN978-0-8191-1378-8.
^Blench, Roger (2006).Archaeology, language, and the African past. Altamira Press.ISBN978-0-7591-0465-5.
