iroko

• Yoruba : Ìrókò, Ùróko
• Gbe languages : Loko, Roko{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Robert Farris |title=Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy |date=26 May 2010 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-87433-7 |page=167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzOIY4iHSjAC&dq=iroko+loko.&pg=PA167 |access-date=23 September 2024 |language=en}}
• Sranan Tongo: Loko {{Cite book |last=Wekker |first=Gloria |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm61758062 |title=The politics of passion: women's sexual culture in the Afro-Surinamese diaspora |last2=Wekker |first2=Gloria |date=2006 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-13162-9 |series=Between men--between women |location=New York |oclc=ocm61758062}}{{Cite book |last=Wooding |first=Charles J. |title=Evolving culture: a cross-cultural study of Suriname, West Africa, and the Caribbean |date=1981 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-8191-1378-8 |location=Washington, D.C}}
• Igbo: Ọ́jị̀
• Edo : Uloko
• Urhobo : Uno
• Akan languages : Odum{{Cite book|title=Archaeology, language, and the African past|last=Blench|first=Roger|publisher=Altamira Press|year=2006|isbn=9780759104655}}
• Kikongo : Kambala
• Ijaw : Olokpata
• Ejagham : Nsan{{cite book |last1=Quattrocchi |first1=Umberto |title=CRC World Dictionary of Plant Nmaes: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology |date=3 February 2023 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-000-89773-9 |page=1692 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dh2rEAAAQBAJ&dq=iroko+loko.&pg=PA1692 |access-date=23 September 2024 |language=en}}

Iroko is yielded mostly (probably) by Milicia excelsa. In much of the literature on this timber the names of the trees that yields it are given as Chlorophora excelsa (syn. Milicia excelsa) and Chlorophora regia (syn. Milicia regia).{{Britannica|294241|iroko wood}}{{ITIS|id=506548 |taxon=Chlorophora excelsa (Welw.) Benth.}}

Milicia excelsa is currently listed as 'near threatened' on the IUCN Red List.{{cite iucn |author=World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |year=1998 |title=Milicia excelsa |volume=1998 |page=e.T33903A9817388 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T33903A9817388.en |access-date=1 April 2024}}

Both species are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate individuals.{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/hdy.2014.5|title=Speciation slowing down in widespread and long-living tree taxa: Insights from the tropical timber tree genus Milicia (Moraceae)|year=2014|last1=Daïnou|first1=K.|last2=Mahy|first2=G.|last3=Duminil|first3=J.|last4=Dick|first4=C. W.|last5=Doucet|first5=J-L|last6=Donkpégan|first6=A S L.|last7=Pluijgers|first7=M.|last8=Sinsin|first8=B.|last9=Lejeune|first9=P.|last10=Hardy|first10=O. J.|journal=Heredity|volume=113|issue=1|pages=74–85|pmid=24549110|pmc=4815650}}

File:Iroko-piece.jpg

The timber is used for a variety of external and internal purposes{{cite web |title=Wood Species Database: Iroko |url=https://www.trada.co.uk/wood-species/iroko/ |website=Wood Species Database |publisher=Timber Research And Development Association (TRADA) |access-date=21 August 2022}} including boat-building, domestic flooring, furniture and outdoor gates. From the late 1990s, it was used as part of the txalaparta, a Basque musical instrument constructed of wooden boards, due to its lively sound.{{Cite web|url = http://www.cancioneros.com/co/2839/2/la-txalaparta-el-sonido-ancestral-de-euskadi-por-pol-ducable-roges|title = La txalaparta, el sonido ancestral de Euskadi por Pol Ducable Rogés|website = CANCIONEROS.COM|access-date = 2016-03-04}} Iroko is one of the traditional djembe woods. Iroko wood was the wood chosen for the pews in the Our Lady of Peace Basilica.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aKoKHmuexywC|title=Architecture and Power in Africa|last=Elleh|first=Nnamdi|date=2002-01-01|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275976798|language=en}}

It is a very durable wood;{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VfuWr1KxrGYC|title = Wood Structure and Properties '06|last1 = Kurjatko|first1 = Stanislav|last2 = Kúdela|first2 = Jozef|last3 = Lagaňa|first3 = Rastislav|date = 2006-01-01|publisher = Arbora Publishers|isbn = 9788096886845|language = en}} iroko does not require regular treatment with oil or varnish when used outdoors, although it is very difficult to work with tools as it tends to splinter easily, and blunts tools very quickly.{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HikdloJ3Z2gC|title = Upgrading Your Boat's Interior|last = Westin|first = Mike|date = 2013-04-12|publisher = A&C Black|isbn = 9781408159095|language = en}}

In the UK there are no trade restrictions on the machining of this timber. The only reported adverse effects known to be caused by the dust from iroko are asthma, dermatitis and nettle rash.{{cite web|title=HSE Toxic Woods Information Sheet|url=http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf|publisher=Health and Safety Executive|access-date=15 October 2012|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817202842/https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf|url-status=dead}}

The tree is feared in some cultures where it originates and hence is shunned or revered with offerings.{{cite book|title=Twilight Tales3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHw9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA26|access-date=2 April 2011|publisher=CUP Archive|page=26|year = 1953}} Yoruba people believe that the tree possess an animating force/spirit (Olúwéré), and anybody who sees the 'Iroko-man' face to face becomes insane and speedily dies.{{cite book|last=Ogumefu|first=M. I.|title=Yoruba legends|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c2nt2Vui0qEC&pg=PA10|year=1929|publisher=Forgotten Books|isbn=978-1-60506-017-0|page=10}} According to the Yoruba, any man who cuts down any iroko tree causes devastating misfortune on himself and all of his family, although if they need to cut down the tree they can make a prayer afterwards to protect themselves.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/churchmissionar01socigoog|title=The Church Missionary Juvenile Instructor|date=1880-01-01|publisher=Seeley, Jackson, & Halliday|language=en}}

They also claim that the spirit of the Iroko can be heard in houses which use iroko wood, as the spirit of the Iroko is trapped in the wood. In Nigeria the iroko wood is of much lower quality due to soil conditions as well as root-rot.{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AOsiAQAAIAAJ|title = Bulletin of the Imperial Institute|date = 1914-01-01|publisher = The Institute|page = 366|language = en}}{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yeoLAQAAIAAJ|title = House of Commons Papers|last = Commons|first = Great Britain Parliament House of|date = 1914-01-01|publisher = H.M. Stationery Office|language = en}}{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zhsoAQAAMAAJ|title = Documentation and Information: Ecology : Catalogue of Documents and Publications on MAB in Africa|date = 1990-01-01|publisher = UNESCO's Regional Office|language = en}} Some Westerners refer to the wood as "poor man's teak".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OblmwE2bFswC|title=When God Takes Over: Stories of hope on the streets|last=Hamon|first=Lindsay|date=2012-11-07|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=9781477238844|language=en}}

File:Milicia Excelsa (Chlorophora excelsa) (Bangla - আফ্রিকান টিকওক).jpg|Trunk of iroko / African teak, Milicia excelsa (Chlorophora Excelsa) in Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh. 2016.

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{{Reflist}}

{{Wikispecies|Milicia}}

• [http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf Toxic woods] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817202842/https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf |date=17 August 2021 }} (HSE)

{{Taxonbar|from=Q144717}}

Category:Wood

Category:Trees of Benin

Category:Yoruba mythology

Category:Plant common names

Milicia

Category:Moraceae genera

Category:Dioecious plants

Category:Plants described in 1909