Budongo mahogany is indigenous to Uganda. An important timber tree from Guinea to Angola in lowland and mid-altitude rain forest. In Uganda, it also grows at forest edges and in thickets and gallery forest in Budongo, Mabira, S.W. Elgon and West Mengo Forests and Mpanga, usually below 1,220 m. In Kampala, Budongo mahogany can be found alongUpper Kololo terrace among other places.

A very large deciduous tree to 50 m, the bole straight or wavy to 25 m clear to a deep crown with dense foliage. Blunt buttresses may be present up to 2.5 m and surface roots are well developed.

BARK: grey-brown with pink patches, smooth and thin, flaking in irregular pieces 10-20 cm leaving concave scars. Branches vertical and marked with leaf scars; young branches dotted with lenticels.

LEAVES: clustered at ends of branches, even pinnate, the stalk to 30 cm long with 10-16 leaflets almost opposite, each to 12 cm long, tip round or pointed, sharply tipped, 7-10 lateral veins, but other veins indistinct, hairs or, the midrib below, almost no stalk.

FLOWERS: large, stiff flowering heads to 35 cm long, flowers male or female, very small, 5 green-white petals with a pink or yellow tinge, a white tube of ten stamens. Flowers from November to May.

FRUIT: a cylindrical woody capsule, sharply pointed, narrowed to the base, dark brown-black and spotted, 15-20 cm long hanging on the tree, curving when ripe then opening at the base into 5 parts, falling together like a cap. Black seeds with brown wings, 8-9 cm long, separate from the central column.

Medicine: the bark. http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php id=Entandrophragma+angolense

Agroforestry: can be planted as a shade tree in banana, coffee and tea plantations.

An ornamental tree.

Shavings of the wood combined with rice husks, have been processed in a pressure vessel in the presence of aqueous sodium sulphide to produce a brilliant yellow dye of reasonable fastness to light and alkaline wash on cotton fabrics.

The wood is highly valued for exterior and interior joinery, furniture, cabinet work, veneer and plywood, and is also used for flooring, interior trim, panelling, stairs, ship building, vehicle bodies and coffins. It is also suitable for light construction, musical instruments, toys, novelties, boxes, crates, carvings and turnery.

The wood is used as firewood and for charcoal production.

The seeds have a fat content of about 60% rich in cis-vaccenic acid, an oleic acid isomer that can be used in the industrial production of nylon-11.