Musanga cecropioides is a pioneer species and readily springs up in newly cleared patches of forest.

In Nigeria it is joined in these locations by the poison devil's-pepper (Rauvolfia vomitoria), the Ivory Coast almond (Terminalia ivorensis) and the dragon's blood tree (Harungana madagascariensis).

Five years later, M. cecropioides has become dominant, with a closed canopy at 10 m (33 ft)[1] Uses of the wood from the African corkwood tree range from flotation devices, such as rafts, to toys.

The wood of the African corkwood tree has a frail concreteness and has a tendency to mold and tarnish easily.

The tree has traditional medical uses among the Bantu peoples of the Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.