News published: 06 January 2026

On 16 December 2025, we recorded first flowering in Pentaclethra eetveldeana within a Miyawaki-style restoration plot at Lukango Tree Conservancy (LuTreeCo). The individual was seed-grown, planted in the field on 18 January 2024 at approximately six months old, and observed flowering at around 29 months from seed.

Pentaclethra eetveldeana is a Central African forest legume (Fabaceae). In its native range, flowering is generally assumed to occur only after canopy recruitment, typically many years, often a decade or more, into growth. This observation is therefore notable because flowering occurred in a high-density Miyawaki planting, before canopy closure, and while the plant still exhibited juvenile vegetative characteristics.

This precocious (juvenile) flowering does not represent typical species phenology. However, it highlights the phenological plasticity that some tropical forest trees may exhibit under dense, high-light restoration systems. At LuTreeCo, we are now monitoring progression to anthesis, pod initiation or abortion, and whether other individuals from the same cohort display similar behaviour.

Importantly, this observation does not stand alone. Earlier records from LuTreeCo documenting unusually early flowering and fruiting in Rytigynia species, previously reported through BGCI’s newsletter, suggest an emerging pattern. Together, these cases point toward a possible acceleration of reproductive timing in certain African forest taxa when grown under dense, restoration-focused planting systems. Given how poorly documented phenology remains for many African tree species, continued observation and reporting from restoration landscapes may prove critical in refining our understanding of tree development, reproductive timing, and system-driven plasticity.