Wood Is Rotting

On 27th February this year, a heavy downpour in Uganda managed to successfully bring down a tree that had stood for ages, this may not have been the oldest tree we have ever had in Uganda but it held the most important history in this country. The tree I am talking about is the Canarium schweinfurthii locally known as omuwafu in Uganda.

Canarium schweinfurthii is a large forest tree with its crown reaching to the upper canopy of the forest, with a long clean, straight, and cylindrical bole exceeding 50 m. The diameter above the heavy root swellings can be up to 4.5 m. Bark thick, on young tree fairly smooth, becoming increasingly scaly and fissured with age. The slash is reddish or light brown with a turpentine-like odor, exuding a heavy, sticky oleoresin that colors to sulfur yellow and becomes solid.

This giant had been in existence for over 150 years and the legend has it that even during its days, one of the Kings of Buganda, King Walugembe Muteesa the first together with the American Explorer, Henry Marton Stanely sat down under the shade of this species and wrote a letter that invited Anglican Missionaries to come to Uganda. Other writers have it, that it was that document which marked the beginning of Education in Present day Uganda.

Foresters know very well that trees also grow and reach their maximum rotation age. This tree has been standing for many years and the size of the bole speaks volumes about how much carbon it had sequestered over those 150-plus years. Of course, the fruits of this tree are very edible to birds and other animals including us. What is so true for sure is that we cannot restore this tree in a short cycle, it is so hard to raise a plantation of such species, and with tree growing focused on commercial forestry, the only thing we can all do is to preserve and conserve those that are still standing.

The functions of such trees in that category cannot be compared to any of the fast-growing species. All parts of the canarium serve a specific purpose in our ecosystem, from its leaves to the resins, man has discovered brilliant ideas that can keep him in existence with this hero. In the past, the resin was exported to Europe for pharmaceutical use. It was used as a substitute for gum-mastic in making wound dressings in World War II. A bark decoction is used against dysentery, gonorrhea, coughs, chest pains, pulmonary affections, stomach complaints, and food poisoning, and it is purgative and emetic. The resin is used against roundworm infections and other intestinal parasites. It is an emollient, stimulant, diuretic and has action on skin affections and eczema. The pounded bark is used against leprosy and ulcers. The root is used against adenites whereas root scrapings are made into a poultice.

Why is it Rotting?

In Kyambogo University where this tree rested following its downfall, It has been 6 months down but no words have come out from the authorities on whether the tree will be recycled for something important. Fungi cannot wait, it has already started taking back what belongs to Earth but for me, my concern is the carbon it has stored for 15 decades, how can we store that carbon for more years? Should we consider making a monumental sculpture out of it or we should perhaps make amazing furniture out of its wood?

According to the Australian National University, The world's dead wood currently stores 73 billion tonnes of carbon and according to their new research, 15% of this is released into the atmosphere and soil each year, a little more than the world's emission from burning fossil fuels. Releasing carbon into the atmosphere has its consequences in accelerating climate change, the earlier we look into innovative alternatives that can continue locking this carbon, the safer we shall contribute to the long-term survival of living organisms on earth. This could be a single tree that needs adequate attention but the impact is more pronounced to the thousands of trees that fall into this category in Uganda.

What do you think is the best way to preserve this forgotten tree that had a historical impact on the people of Uganda?