Table 2.

The functional uses of South African Meliaceae.

Taxa	Traditional Use			References
	Functional Use	Part Use	Method of Use
Ekebergia capensis	Tanning, furniture, brush, broom heads and handle, beams, planks, wagon, ship and boat building, light construction, poles and tool handles, light flooring, joinery, interior trim, vehicle bodies, sporting goods, toys, novelties	Wood	Wood is used in furniture industry	[12,40]
	Firewood and charcoal production	Wood	Wood is used in cooking	[12,40]
	Animal feed	Fruit and leaf	Birds feed on fleshy parts of the fruit, while the leaf is used as a fodder	[12,40]
	Shades and wind break	Whole plant	It serves as an ornamental tree planted in gardens and roadsides for shades, as well as for wind break and soil conservation	[40,43]
	Edible caterpillar	Whole plant	Caterpillars are gathered from the plant and prepared as food	[43,101]
Ekebergia pterophylla	Garden tree	Whole plant	Whole plant is used as an ornamental garden tree as well as a bonsai	[76]
Entandrophragma caudatum	Furniture, cabinet making, carving canoes	Wood	Wood is light and durable, hence high demand by the furniture industry	[8]
	Tanning	Wood	Wood sap is used for tanning	[43]
	Toy	Fruit	Fruit pericarp is used to make ‘zwihwilili’ with which children like to play	[43,101]
	Shade	Whole plant	Whole plant is favoured for shade	[43]
	Animal feed	Seed	Seed is eaten by antelope	[75]
Nymania capensis	Forage	Leaf	Source of forage for goats	[89]
Pseudobersa mamossam bicensis	Buildings and charcoal	Wood	Wood is used in making poles in local house buildings, as well as firewood and making charcoal	[102]
Trichilia dregeana	Furniture and carving	Wood	Wood is used for carving, repair of ships, and for making household furniture	[8,55,75]
	Craftwork	Wood	NR	[101]
	Food condiments	Fruit	Fruit content is cooked with vegetables, fruit pulp is eaten as sour milk, while the oil made from the fruit pulp is used in cooking vegetables and other relishes	[43,65]
	Polish	Fruit and seed	Oil made from seed and fruit pulp is used to polish women’s clothes made from leather, furniture, and other household implements made from wood	[43]
	Soap and cosmetics	Seed	Oil from seeds is used to make soap, cosmetics, and candles	[43,75,103]
	Forage or fertilizer	Seed	Residue from seeds after oil extraction is used as a fertilizer or animal feed	[65]
		Fruit	Fruits are eaten by birds and bats	[75]
	Drink	Seed aril	Seed aril is pounded and made into a sauce or sweet drink	[65]
	Shade	Whole plant	Whole plant is used to create shady avenue and as an ornamental tree	[65,75]
	Fishing	Seed	Bright-coloured seed is used as bait for fishing	[65]
Trichilia emetica	Shade	Whole plant	Whole plant is used for shade	[43,75]
	Soap and cosmetics	Seed	Oil from seed is used to make soap, body ointment, and candle	[8,71,76,103,104]
	Fertilizer	Seed	Residue from seed after oil extraction is used as a fertilizer	[71]
	Kola	Seed aril	Seed aril is eaten as a substitute for kola	[71]
	Forage	Leaf	Leaf is eaten by cattle and goats	[71]
		Fruit	Fruit is eaten by baboons, antelopes, and monkeys	[75]
		Seed	Seed is eaten by birds	[75,76]
	Carvings	Wood	Wood is used in carving furniture, household implements, musical instruments, canoes, and as chew-stick	[8,71,75,76,105]
	Dyeing	Bark	Pinkish or light red-brown dye is obtained from the beaten boiled bark	[4,71,75]
	Cooking	Seed aril	Seed aril is soaked and cooked together with squash or sweet potatoes	[8,75,101]
	Multivitamin	Seed	Juice is made from the seeds and other edible plants to control malnutrition	[106]
	Beverage	Fruit	NR	[101]
Turraea floribunda	Traps	Wood	Wood is used for making traps	[107]
	Ornamental	Whole plant	Tree is used as an ornamental plant in humid, frost-free subtropical and tropical gardens, and as a greenhouse plant in temperate countries	[76,82]
Turraea nilotica	Handicrafts	Stem/branches	Stems/branches are used for handicrafts and domestics purposes	[107]
	Firewood	Branches	Branches are sorted for firewood	[107]
Turraea obtusifolia	Ornamental	Whole plant	Plant is used as an ornamental container plant in landscape designs, as well as an attractive garden plant
	Insect repellent	Leaf	Insect repellent	[87,101]