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:Family: Lauraceae

== Origin and geographic distribution ==

The heartwood is red-brown; it is clearly demarcated from the yellowish sapwood. The grain is straight, texture fine to medium. The wood contains resin canals. The density of the wood is about 730 kg/m³ at 12% moisture content. The wood seasons slowly, but with little degrade. Shrinkage rates are 3.3–4.0% radial and 5.6–6.4% tangential from green to oven dry. Once dry, the wood is stable in service. At 12% moisture content, the modulus of rupture is 154 N/mm², modulus of elasticity 9700 N/mm², compression parallel to grain 60 N/mm², shear 9 N/mm², cleavage 22 N/mm and Chalais-Meudon side hardness 5.2. The wood saws fairly well, but with some dulling effect on tools due to the presence of silica. It nails well and has good nail and screw holding properties; it works and finishes satisfactorily. The wood is resistant to fungi, termites and marine borers, but the sapwood is liable to attack by ''Lyctus'' beetles. The heartwood is resistant to impregnation with preservatives.

Evergreen medium-sized tree up to 27 m tall; bole straight, branchless for up to 15 m, cylindrical, up to 60 cm in diameter, without buttresses; young branches reddish hairy. Leaves alternate to almost opposite, simple and entire; stipules absent; petiole c. 1 cm long, hairy; blade obovate to oblong, 7–14 cm × 3–6 cm, leathery, olive-brown and glabrous above, reddish hairy on the veins below, pinnately veined with 6–8 pairs of lateral veins. Inflorescence a terminal or axillary, robust panicle 4–8 cm long, reddish hairy; peduncle 1–1.5 cm long, flattened; bracts caducous. Flowers bisexual, regular, small, brownish yellow; pedicel 1–2 mm long, reddish hairy; perianth bell-shaped or cup-shaped, lobes 6, up to 1 mm long; fertile stamens 9, in 3 whorls, those in outer 2 whorls sessile, those in inner whorl stalked and with 2 glands each, staminodes in a fourth whorl; ovary superior, c. 1 mm long. Fruit a pear-shaped berry 2.5–3 cm × c. 1.5 cm, 1-seeded.

''Beilschmiedia'' comprises about 250 species and is distributed throughout the tropics, with about 80 species in tropical Africa and Madagascar. ''Beilschmiedia diversiflora'' belongs to subgenus ''Synthoradenia''. It is closely related to ''Beilschmiedia corbisieri'' (Robyns) Robyns & R.Wilczek, but the leaves of the latter are larger and sparsely hairy, and the perianth lobes are slightly longer. ''Beilschmiedia diversiflora'' is sometimes considered a variety of ''Beilschmiedia corbisieri''.

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