list of figures - Terry Sunderland

Uses
This species is the most desired large diameter cane species in West Africa and, along
with L. robustum, one of the two main commercial species in Central Africa
(Hédin,1929; Irvine, 1961; Bauchet, 1988; Profizi, 1989; Abbiw, 1990; Tuley, 1995;
Burkill, 1997; Sunderland, 1999a; 1999b).
Although the stems are used, in the main, whole, throughout west Africa, the split
stems are also used for binding house frames together as well as for the construction
of fish traps, baskets and other woven products (Bauchet, 1988; Profizi, 1989; Abbiw,
1990; Tuley, 1995; Burkill, 1997). The leaves were formerly used by the Mende of
Sierra Leone (Dalziel, 1937) the Nzeme of Ghana (Abbiw, 1990) and the Edo of
Nigeria (Burkill, 1997) as a thatching material, but have since been replaced by metal
roofing (Abbiw, 1990; Davies and Richards, 1991). In Cote d’Ivoire, the leaves are
also used for thatching whilst the split stems are used for basketry and in the
fabrication of traditional drums (securing the goat-skin onto the wooden frame)
(ECOSYN, 1999). In the Congo, the Téké use the split stems of this species as a
mooring line for fasting their canoes to the river bank. In much the same way, these
split stems can also be suspended across a river to help with crossing on foot (Profizi
and Makita-Madzou, 1996). The plant itself has significant symbolic value and is
reputed to conjure up ghosts (ibid.).
The young emerging shoots are often cut and roasted whole before the inner soft pith
is eaten (Raponda-Walker and Sillans, 1961; Berhaut, 1988; Abbiw, 1990) or they
may be boiled and then fried in butter to remove the bitterness (Chevalier, 1934).
However, the Balundu-Bima of Cameroon state that the consumption of the young
shoots can lead to impotence and hence it avoided by males (Mallson pers. comm.).
The stem apex is eaten is widely eaten and is thought to contain an active heartstimulant
which promotes a sense of well-being akin to that caused by kola nuts
(Jordan, herb. K!). Holland (1922) records how many local people in Nigeria
transported a portion of the upper stem with them when they entered the forest for
long periods to harvest wild rubber; the whole stems were roasted on the fire and the
soft pith then removed and eaten. The cut stems also provide a potable sap drunk by
forest travellers (Berhaut, 1988; Raponda-Walker and Sillans, 1961).
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