Abstract

Prunus africana is a species of the Rosaceae family, known under its trade/pilot name aspygeum or African cherry. The bark is the major source of an extract used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, an increasingly common health problem in older men in the western world. A study for estimating the mass of the stem barks of P. africana was carried out in December, 2011 on the Mount Cameroon Forest. Diameter at breast high and the thickness of the stem bark of each Prunus tree were recorded to establish the cubic tariff or the relation between the diameter and the volume of the stem bark. Some samples of stem barks were collected, and their volume and mass were noted, with view to establish the relation between the volume of the bark and its mass or the mass per volume metre. The best equation which links the volume (V) of fresh barks to the diameter (D) of each Prunus tree is V = 0.00005*D^1.916. The average mass of an exploitable Prunus tree is 99.86 kg. A suggestion is made to sustain P. africana in Mount Cameroon.

Key words: Threatened species, Prunus africana, Mount Cameroon, Bitterlich’s Relascope, cubic tariff, CITES.