The inflorescences are pyramidal panicles clad in yellowish hairs, up to 20 cm (8 in) long, growing in the leaf axils.

[5] The species is native to Western and Central Africa, its range extending from Liberia to Angola, Kenya and Ethiopia.

It is also used in flooring, furniture, vehicle bodies, cabinet work, light joinery, matches and hardboard.

A decoction of the bark is used in traditional medicine for women's ailments, diarrhoea, dysentery, urethral discharge and haemorrhoids.

The bark is applied as a pulp for the treatment of ulcers and skin ailments, and as a powder for treating wounds and snakebites.