The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™

ISSN 2307-8235 (online)

IUCN 2019: T62021391A62021394
Scope: Global
Language: English

Brachystegia eurycoma
Assessment by: Hills, R.

View on www.iucnredlist.org

Citation: Hills, R. 2019. Brachystegia eurycoma. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T62021391A62021394. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-
3.RLTS.T62021391A62021394.en

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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™

Taxonomy
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family

Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Fabales Fabaceae

Taxon Name:  Brachystegia eurycoma Harms

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published: 2019

Date Assessed: January 22, 2019

Justification:
Brachystegia eurycoma is a widespread species with a distribution extending from Nigeria into
Cameroon and possibly Gabon. This species is harvested for its timber and it also has a number of uses
in cooking and medicinally. Despite the threats, this is a widespread species and has been reported to
be locally common and therefore is assessed as Least Concern.

Geographic Range
Range Description:
Brachystegia eurycoma is a widely distributed species occurring in Nigeria, Cameroon and possibly
Gabon, with an estimated extent of occurrence of 571,798 km2.

Country Occurrence:
Native: Cameroon; Gabon; Nigeria

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Brachystegia eurycoma – published in 2019. 1
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62021391A62021394.en
Distribution Map
Brachystegia eurycoma

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Brachystegia eurycoma – published in 2019. 2
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62021391A62021394.en
Population
There is no known population information available for this species, but it is reported to be locally
abundant (Oyen 2012). The population is suspected to be decreasing as a result of habitat loss.
Current Population Trend:  Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)

Brachystegia eurycoma is a large tree up to 37 m tall. It is found on stream banks, in open woodland and
high forest (Tropical Plants Database 2018). This species flowers from April to May and fruits from
September to January (Oyen 2012).

Systems:  Terrestrial

Use and Trade

This species is harvested for its timber, which is used locally and also sometimes exported, for a number
of purposes including construction, joinery and furniture. It is sometimes used as an ornamental tree.
This species is also used locally in medicine and cooking such as the seeds being used as a thickening in
soup (Oyen 2012, Tropical Plants Database 2018).

Threats (see Appendix for additional information)

This species is logged for its timber and is also used medicinally and in cooking. The forests of Nigeria
and Cameroon are threatened by habitat loss from activities including commercial and illegal logging,
mining and palm plantations. In particular, the forests of south eastern Nigeria, where this species
occurs, have been severely threatened due to deforestation (Okoji 2001).

Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)

This species is found in two ex situ collections (BGCI 2019). It has also been found in the Akure Forestry
Reserve.

Credits
Assessor(s): Hills, R.

Reviewer(s): van der Burgt, X.

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Brachystegia eurycoma – published in 2019. 3
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62021391A62021394.en
Bibliography
Bachman, S., Moat, J., Hill, A.W., de la Torre, J. and Scott, B. 2011. Supporting Red List threat
assessments with GeoCAT: geospatial conservation assessment tool. In: V. Smith and L. Penev (eds) e-
Infrastructures for data publishing in biodiversity science. Zookeys 150: 117-126.

BGCI. 2019. PlantSearch. Botanic Gardens Conservation International Available at:

http://www.bgci.org/plant_search.php/. (Accessed: 19 July 2019).

GBIF. 2019. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Available at: http://data.gbif.org/species/.

(Accessed: 2019).

ILDIS. 2010. International Legume Database & Information Service. University of Reading, UK. Available
at: http://www.ildis.org/LegumeWeb.

IUCN. 2019. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2019-3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 10 December 2019).

Okoju, M.A. 2001. Depletion of forest resources in south eastern Nigeria: who loses? The
Environmentalist 21(3): 197-203.

Oyen, L.P.A. 2012. Brachystegia eurycoma Harms. Record from PROTA4U. Wageningen, Netherlands
Available at: https://prota4u.org/database/protav8.asp?g=pe&p=Brachystegia+eurycoma+Harms.
(Accessed: 22/01/2019).

Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. 2018. tropical.theferns.info. Available at:

http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php. (Accessed: 24 January 2019).

Citation
Hills, R. 2019. Brachystegia eurycoma. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T62021391A62021394. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62021391A62021394.en

Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.

External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Brachystegia eurycoma – published in 2019. 4
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62021391A62021394.en
 Appendix

Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Major
Habitat Season Suitability
Importance?

1. Forest -> 1.5. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry Resident Suitable -

Plant Growth Forms

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Plant Growth Forms

Tree - large

Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Threat Timing Scope Severity Impact Score

2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> 2.2. Wood & pulp Ongoing Unknown Unknown Unknown
plantations -> 2.2.1. Small-holder plantations
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation

2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> 2.2. Wood & pulp Ongoing Unknown Unknown Unknown
plantations -> 2.2.2. Agro-industry plantations
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation

3. Energy production & mining -> 3.2. Mining & Ongoing Unknown Unknown Unknown
quarrying
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation

5. Biological resource use -> 5.3. Logging & wood Ongoing Unknown Unknown Unknown
harvesting -> 5.3.1. Intentional use:
(subsistence/small scale) [harvest]
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
2. Species Stresses -> 2.2. Species disturbance

Conservation Actions in Place

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Conservation Actions in Place

In-Place Land/Water Protection and Management

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Brachystegia eurycoma – published in 2019. 5
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 Conservation Actions in Place
Occur in at least one PA: Yes

In-Place Species Management

Subject to ex-situ conservation: Yes

Conservation Actions Needed

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Conservation Actions Needed

3. Species management -> 3.1. Species management -> 3.1.1. Harvest management

3. Species management -> 3.1. Species management -> 3.1.2. Trade management

3. Species management -> 3.4. Ex-situ conservation -> 3.4.2. Genome resource bank

Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Research Needed
1. Research -> 1.2. Population size, distribution & trends

1. Research -> 1.5. Threats

3. Monitoring -> 3.1. Population trends

3. Monitoring -> 3.2. Harvest level trends

3. Monitoring -> 3.3. Trade trends

3. Monitoring -> 3.4. Habitat trends

Additional Data Fields

Distribution
Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) (km²): 571798

Lower elevation limit (m): 500

Upper elevation limit (m): 1150

Habitats and Ecology

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat: Yes

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Brachystegia eurycoma – published in 2019. 6
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62021391A62021394.en
The IUCN Red List Partnership

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership.

The IUCN Red List Partners are: Arizona State University; BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens
Conservation International; Conservation International; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew;
Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University; and Zoological Society of London.

THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™