THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES
INDIGENOUS TREES OF NIGERIA
B. SOUTHERN PROVINCES.
=Palmæ.=
_Raphia Hookeriana_. Hooker’s Palm or the Piassava Palm. Aiko (Yoruba);
Iya (Efik); Angor (Benin); Ori (Oban, Ekoi).
It is found chiefly in the Calabar, Warri, and Ondo provinces of
Nigeria, mixed with _R. vinifera_ at the edges of estuaries and rivers
in the evergreen forest zone.
One of the main differences between this palm and _R. vinifera_ is
that the fruit is much shorter (at the most 1½ inches long and ¾ inch
in diameter) and more stumpy in shape, coming abruptly to a point at
the tip. _R. vinifera_, on the other hand, is much longer, reaching 2½
to 3 inches in length and ¾ inch to an inch in diameter, and it is
very elliptical in shape. The bunches of fruit of this palm, _R.
Hookeriana_, are much smaller, rarely exceeding more than a foot in
length, and containing 50 to 75 nuts, whereas _R. vinifera_ may have
bunches 3 feet long, each containing 500 nuts or more. In the stem,
too, this palm is smaller, often not reaching more than 6 to 9 inches
in diameter, with a total height of 20 feet, whereas _R. vinifera_
will reach over a foot in diameter and a total height of over 60 feet.
The natural cleaning of the stem begins much later in this palm, and
does not reach anything like the height of that of _R. vinifera_. In
many specimens, in fact, the stem remains always more or less covered
with the very upward tending branches. In this respect it reminds one
a little of _R. Ruffia_. The leaves, however, are more similar to _R.
vinifera_, but only about half the size, especially in length; they
are not quite so wide, nor are the leaf stalks quite so large.
The timber is very similar, but more fibrous and of a looser texture
than that of _R. vinifera_. It is a little easier to cut. In the older
specimens the foliage still retains its dark green colour compared
with the dry, yellowish hue which _R. vinifera_ takes on as it gets
older. It is a somewhat slow-growing, shade-bearing tree. It likes a
somewhat rich soil, but can, however, stand in water, and apparently
withstands floods. Natural regeneration appears to be good.
The timber has not been cut for export nor for local use. The fronds
are occasionally used for a similar purpose as that of _R. vinifera_,
and sometimes the leaves also.
_Native Use_.—The fronds and leaves are used in a similar way to those
of _R. vinifera_. The base of the leaf stalk is cut off into lengths
up to 6 feet (it almost encircles the tree and extends much further up
than in the case of _R. vinifera_) and laid in stagnant water. After
the intervening substance between the fibres has got more or less soft
and partly rotted away, the whole is taken out and the fibres cleaned
with a kind of comb. These are then dried, and packed together in
bundles of 20 pounds upwards, and sold to the European factory as
Piassava. This industry is more widespread in the Eket district of the
Calabar province, but it has taken a great number of years of thought
and careful attention to bring it up to its present dimensions. The
cutting of the leaves is undertaken mostly by the men and the rotting
and cleaning of the fibre mostly by the women. Before the war Piassava
fibre was rarely worth more than £28 per ton. It is now worth over
£70. Unless, however, a price of at least £20 per ton is offered in
Liverpool market for this fibre, it is doubtful if the industry can be
made profitable for everyone concerned, producers included.
_Raphia vinifera_. The Palm Wine Tree, or Tombo Palm, or Bamboo, the
last named being the name used by the English-speaking Jekris. Ako
(Yoruba); Emmaha Augor (Benin); Oukot (Efik).
It is found in the Abeokuta, Ondo, Benin, Warri, Owerri and Calabar
provinces and the Colony of Nigeria, at the edges of the streams and
rivers in the evergreen forest zone, where it grows in large groups
and pure forests.
It is a medium-sized palm, growing separately with one stem, which
clears itself of the leaf fronds for about half its height between the
twelfth and fifteenth year. The trunk then is comparatively smooth,
except for the very large scars of the leaf stalk. The fronds are the
longest of any of the African palms, reaching sometimes a length of 40
feet, roughly sickle shaped; in section they reach about 2 inches
diameter at the broadest part, and are a yellow-brown colour. The
leaves come out from the stalk almost at a right angle, thus making
them much wider and, owing to their greater length, much finer and
heavier foliage than that of the Oil Palm, or even the Coconut Palm.
In fact, an isolated specimen growing well could be not unfavourably
compared to the Royal Palm in the grandeur of its spread of leaf and
the beauty of the outward-spreading, fan-shaped bold crown. Both the
male and the female flowers are very conspicuous. The bunches of
fruit, up to 3 feet in length, hang down like enormous elongated
bunches of yellow grapes. The nuts are covered with a smooth yellow
hard skin, set in scales very similar to those of a cone, except that
each scale is tightly joined to the next. When the fruit decays, or is
boiled, the scales come off as well as the yellow, fibrous matter,
which gives a yellowish tinge to the water. The main difference
between the base of the Oil Palm and that of the leaf of this tree is
the extension of it more than half round the bole in the case of _R.
vinifera_, and also flatly and smoothly down the stem. On the other
hand, in the Oil Palm the leaf grows more abruptly out of and away
from the stem. Owing to the Tombo Palm stem being smaller (on the
average only 9 inches in diameter), the base of the frond extends
nearly all round the tree, the lower one overlapping the higher one,
and each placed in revolving fashion round the trunk, one above the
other. The leaf scars of the Oil Palm are much smaller. Owing to the
greater length of the leaf of this palm, the crown does not appear to
be such a tuft of leaves at the top of the tree as in the case of the
Oil Palm. In old age it appears more as a cylindrical mass of leaves
occupying the upper half or third of the tree.
The timber is more fibrous and soft than that of the Oil Palm. The
fibres, however, are dark brown, almost black when very wet or after
they have lain in water for any length of time.
On the whole the tree is slow-growing, even slower than the Oil Palm.
It stands a good deal of shade in the earlier stages, but later on is
apparently a light-demanding tree. It grows in freshwater swamps and
at the edges of such places. Although it thrives best in certain
localities, it can be planted and does grow on solid and comparatively
dry land near Calabar. In the Calabar province they are often planted
as an avenue leading up from the main road through the farm to the
house. It will stand floods. Natural regeneration is good, and with
the spread of propagation it tends to be more widely distributed. In
the Calabar and Ogoja provinces seeds were distributed to the natives
for planting for the production of palm wine to take the place of that
obtained from the Oil Palm. The timber has not been used for export,
nor has it been cut for local use. The leaf stalks, however, have been
used for building labourers’ lines and in some European houses. In a
similar way the leaves themselves have been used as a roofing material
after being made up into small mats.
_Native Use._—The tree is tapped near the base of the leading leaves,
or at the base of the male inflorescence, for the production of the
sap, which is collected in calabashes. These are placed in position
every evening and emptied every morning, and replaced in position.
Occasionally the chimpanzees climb up the palms, drink the wine in the
calabash and replace it. A native once shot a chimpanzee, finding it
was the thief of his palm wine and not a human being. The wine is of a
white, sometimes almost creamy colour, and when fresh is quite thin
and foamy. It has a rather pleasant, sweet, and almost sharp taste.
After being kept a few days it begins to ferment, and even moderate
quantities are intoxicating. Either fresh or fermented, it is sold in
bottles or calabashes in the local markets. The supply scarcely, if
ever, exceeds the demand. The natives often put pieces of the bark of
Tala, _Saccoglottis Gabunensis_, in the wine to give it a more bitter
taste. Occasionally also the bark of mahogany and other trees is used.
Tala, however, is the correct bark to use, and it forms an article of
local commerce for this purpose. Owing to the comparative
inaccessibility of some of the “stands” of this tree away in the
swampy regions near the estuaries of some of the larger rivers, such
as the Benin and the Siluko, there are still vast areas where neither
the leaves are cut nor the palms tapped for wine. The seeds are boiled
and placed in the bottom of a canoe, and when sufficient canoes have
been got together, each with its quota of boiled nuts, these are
trodden with the feet of those in the canoe, and both the nuts and the
scaly shell as well as the small amount of yellow flesh are thrown in
the water of a half-stagnant river. This yellow substance partly
blinds and stupefies the fish, the smaller ones of which come half
floating and swimming to the surface, the larger ones being washed
along near the bed of the river. These are caught in convenient places
where the river has been staked all across its width and bamboo
netting put down, except for an opening where a flexible net is used.
Some of the people go about in small canoes, netting the fish that
come to the surface. One of the most famous spots to see this is in
the Osse River, in the reach just below Noami, where the combined
fishery forces of the Jekris and, to a lesser extent, Sobos and Ijors,
for a day or two in succession in April each year, carry on this work.
The catch of fish obtained is enormous. Unless, however, it can be
soon smoked and dried, much of it goes bad. This method of getting
fish is also used by individual natives in stagnant backwaters of
rivers and in isolated pools. The poison apparently does not spoil the
taste or other quality of the fish. Occasionally this palm is also
used for getting out the Piassava fibre, but it appears to be more
difficult, and it is doubtful if it is as valuable as the fibre
obtained from _R. Hookeriana_. Owing, however, to the fact that both
species grow in the same locality and often quite mixed together, it
is highly probable that part of the Piassava obtained is taken from
this palm. In order to stimulate the flow of sap, a fire is often made
at the base of the tree, which burns all the lower leaves and even
part of the top, and thus induces an extra flow of sap, but of course
to the detriment of a continual yield, as the tree subsequently dies.
In many parts of the country there is a regular local industry in the
making of roofing mats from the leaves of this palm. The small ones,
about 3 feet long, are, however, sold 25 for 3d. and the big ones,
over 6 feet long, 25 for 6d. In some places they are cheaper. As a
roofing material they are very durable, and will last at least seven
years. If, however, they are put on very thickly, overlapping more
than two-thirds of their width, and the roof is thoroughly smoked from
the inside, it becomes nearly black, and will last fifteen years. For
native houses it is one of the most used roofing materials, except in
the Benin country, where the large Ewayon leaves are used. Roofing
mats are, of course, being superseded by galvanized iron in the more
civilized places. The leaf stalk is used both as a pole for pushing
lighters or heavily laden canoes through comparatively shallow water,
or as a boat-hook, or pushing and guiding pole for the smaller canoes
in getting up swift, winding and comparatively narrow rivers.
_Raphia Ruffia_. Roofing Palm.
_Chief Characteristics._—It does not form a proper stem, like other
raphias; the long, thin leaves sprout out from the ground, and only
when the tree is some years old is there any trace of a stem, which is
quite short. The petioles are thin, compared to the length, and the
leaflets are thin and narrow.
_Distribution._—It is found in the Calabar and Ogoja Provinces of
Nigeria. It is often planted near watercourses in damp valleys to
provide roofing material for the natives, who make mats from the
leaves (Ikom, Obubra districts).
_Phœnix reclinata_. Swamp Date Palm. Elekikobi (Yoruba); Ukukon
(Benin).
A common tree of the Warri province of Nigeria. It is usually found in
or at the edge of the mangrove swamp, where it appears to thrive. It
is often rather bent in shape, and does not exceed 10 feet in height.
It is usually partially gregarious, though the groups of this species
are much smaller than those of _P. spinosa_. The natives in this
locality scarcely use it at all. The fruit is rather smaller, and it
bears in a less prolific manner than _P. spinosa_.
_Phœnix spinosa_. Wild Date Palm. Okun (Yoruba); Ukukon (Benin).
It is a common tree in the Ogoja, Benin, Ondo and Ibadan provinces of
Nigeria. In appearance more like a very thin stemmed Oil Palm, on
nearer approach the bluish-green, almost silvery, more open, shorter
and rather sharply pointed fronds readily distinguish it from the Oil
Palm group. The fruit is the shape of a very small date, many of which
are borne on thin fibrous twigs of a very stout stalk. It is usually
found in the open deciduous or savannah forest zone.
The natives use the stems for rafters and house-posts; the fruit and
bark are used medicinally; and the leaves are used for making sieves,
hats, mats and bags.
_Calamus deerratus_. Benin Cane or Rattan. Erogbo (Benin).
It is found in the Benin province of Nigeria. It is one of the rarer
canes of the forest, has a yellow flower, and is found near Okenuhen.
The canes are used for fences and house-building.
_Eremospatha macrocarpa_ (Mann and Wenal). Small Benin Rattan. Ukan
(Yoruba); Ikan (Benin).
It is found in the Benin, Calabar, Ondo and Abeokuta provinces of
Nigeria.
It is a common ½-inch thick cane, which attains a length of nearly 200
feet. It grows in clumps and climbs up over the surrounding trees. The
fruit is yellow and rather like a small larch cone which has not
opened. It is used for making rope and baskets, tying timber rafts,
house-building, etc.; in fact, it is the best cane in West Africa.
_Eremospatha sp._ Large Benin Rattan. Okakan (Benin).
It is found in Ondo, Abeokuta, Benin, Warri, Brass, Owerri, Calabar
and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria.
It is a large creeper, nearly an inch in diameter and attaining a
length of nearly 200 feet. It is usually found partly growing on other
trees in more or less open places at the edge of the forest, near
river banks, in the evergreen forest zone; it is also found at the
edges of swamps in the same region. It often forms dense cane brakes.
One of the most typical features of this cane is the reddish-orange
cone-like fruit, which is borne in large clusters on the terminal
shoot of the creeper.
The light-yellow, long spikes of the male flowers are most conspicuous
early in the season, especially when seen from a canoe when passing
down a river like the Osse.
The natives strip off the bark and long shoots of fish-hooklike
spines, and use the comparatively smooth canes as supports for the
canoe mats and for making tying material for house-building; it is
also used for making rope. When whole, it is used in making bridges as
well as for joining logs together for rafting purposes. When cut into
short lengths and bent at one end, it can be used for walking-sticks.
It is rather a slow-growing creeper, and usually ten or twelve grow
out of one root stock. In 1904 this cane was examined in England as a
substitute for rattan, but it was found to be more brittle, and the
internodes were found to be too close together to be attractive as
walking-sticks. Still later, in 1908, it was tried for basket work,
but was found to be too coarse both in structure and texture of grain.
_Elæis Guineensis_. The Oil Palm, the West African Palm. Ope, Ipa ukoro
(Yoruba); Udin (Benin).
It is found in all the Southern Provinces of Nigeria and as far North
as Zungeru, in the Northern Provinces. It belongs to the evergreen
forest zone, though it will spread with cultivation into the mixed
deciduous and dry zones.
It is the common palm of all the farms and forests of the moist and
mixed zone of Nigeria. It bears a bunch of fruit containing as many as
two thousand individual fruits in one drupe. In the drier parts there
may be only as many as one hundred seeds. There is one forked palm on
the right-hand side of the line about seven miles from Ibadan, just
beyond Moor Plantation. This is a very rare occurrence, and I have
only seen one in twelve years’ travelling in Nigeria. The male
inflorescence is not unlike a very close horse’s tail, turned up on
end. The orange-brown-coloured female flowers are very small, and do
not last long (a few days). The male flowers always appear first, and
above the female in each case. The natives say some trees only bear
male flowers, but it is doubtful if this is ever true, except in very
isolated cases. It bears fruit in the fifth year, and will go on for
about a hundred years. There is a most marked difference in the height
of a tree which has grown up in the “high forest” and one which has
come up in an old farm, the former being fully 100 or even 150 feet
high and the latter only 20 to 30 feet in height. In a similar way the
bole of the forest-grown palm is only about 3 feet in girth, whereas
the farm-grown palm may be over 6 feet in girth. It goes without
saying that the latter bears larger bunches of fruit and the
individual nuts are larger and also more numerous.
Between the twelfth and fifteenth year the tree begins to clear itself
of the lower leaves, thus forming a clean bole up to the tuft of
fronds at the top.
Owing to the fact that the bunches of fruit form in the axis of the
leaf stalk, they are compressed very tightly, and thus ripen
comparatively slowly. By cutting off the leaf immediately below the
fruit, the ripening period is shortened by three weeks. This is, of
course, partly due to the increased amount of light. Cutting leaves,
however, above the fruit, or at all excessively in number, leads to a
deceleration in growth, so that pruning should only be moderate. Both
in the forest and in the open, epiphytic ferns, figs, and other plants
grow amongst the leaves on the stem, and more especially later at the
top of the tree. The trees are rarely, if ever, cleaned of these
hindrances to healthy growth, but naturally they retard the flowering
and ripening of the fruit. The leaves are also used for making brushes
for sweeping the ground.
_Native Use._—Oil is made from the pericarp of the fruit, and from the
kernels, for rubbing on the skin. The leaf stalk is used for roof-
poles.
Natural regeneration is good, although the Oil Palm thrives best in a
deep, moist soil with considerable mineral content. It is, however,
found growing amongst rocks on laterite and poor sandy land, and that
in such case the rainfall is deficient, i.e. below 40 inches. A few
small plantations have been made. It is noticeable that self-grown
seedlings grow much slower than those transplanted. In the first year
the self-sown seedlings grow only one pair of leaves, whereas those
transplanted grow five or six in the same period. Apparently the Oil
Palm does not thrive unless the soil is kept well covered and a good
surface tilth maintained. With a planting distance of 20 to 24 feet
there is considerable scope for the planting of other crops between.
The chief difficulty appears to be to grow these at a profit without
impoverishing the soil or hindering the quick development of the Oil
Palm. On suitable soil the most profitable crops appear to be the
following: ground-nuts, beans (three or four kinds), Egusi Bara,
_Citrullus vulgaris_.
A fuller consideration of this subject, and the Oil Palm generally,
will be found in the separate section about it.
_Elæis Guineensis_, var. _Thompsonii_. The Palm of Everlasting Life or
King Palm. Eviromilla (Benin). This is the meaning according to the
Benin name.
It is found in the Colony of Lagos, and Abeokuta and Benin provinces
of Nigeria. On the whole, it is an uncommon tree, but there is no
doubt of its being an indigenous tree to this part of Africa. The
leaves are long and very compressed, being set at an acute angle to
the leaf stalk and of smaller size than in any other species. It gives
the palm almost the appearance of a Cycad. It also looks as if the
leaves had closed up with the cold or were not fully developed. The
leaves also are of a much darker green (almost olive-green) than the
ordinary palm. Amongst the Benis it is considered the Sacred Oil Palm
Tree, the nut obtained from it being especially revered. From the
Resident’s office is seen one of these trees which was planted in the
Benin City Arboretum some nine years ago. It is a very slow-growing
palm, having scarcely one quarter of the rate of growth of the
ordinary oil palm. The stem is much thinner in proportion to the
height than the ordinary oil palm; and it does not attain more than
half the height of an oil palm. When growing in a group, it gives
quite a funereal appearance.
The nuts are used by the natives as “Ju-ju” of divination to see into
the future. It is said that “the nuts talk,” in the Benin country,
where the tree is held to be that of everlasting life.
_Elæis sp._ Ope trumfo (Yoruba).
Abeokuta province, Yoruba country.
_Elæis sp._ Small Oil Palm. Ope Ifu No. I (Yoruba); Ogiedi (Benin).
Abeokuta province, Yoruba country.
_Elæis Guineensis_, var. _Lisombe_. Palm, or Lisombe Palm, or Soft-
shelled Palm. Ogeddin (Benin).
The main difference of this species is in the small oblong, pointed
fruit on a much smaller drupe, and the larger quantity of oil obtained
from the pericarp and the very small kernel in the nut. It is also
much softer to crack. The foliage looks a fresher green than the
ordinary variety; also the leaflets are placed at an acuter angle to
the leaf stalk than the other.
It is not very prevalent in the Benin, Abeokuta, Calabar and Ogoja
provinces of Nigeria.
_Silviculture._—The nuts, when sown, do not germinate true to species,
except for a few per cent. It is planted in the Indem country of the
Ogoja province.
_Native Use._—The oil is collected in a similar way to the other, but
is liked more by the natives of Benin. The kernels are used for making
oil as well.
_Hyphæne_. Dum Palm or Forked Palm. Kaba, Kodago, Kwalo (nut), Goriba
(Dr. Dalziel’s Hausa list).
It is found in the Zaria and Niger provinces of Nigeria.
The only branched palm in West Africa. It attains a height of 30 feet.
It is more or less gregarious in habit, though the individual groups
of palms are not very large. It is apparently somewhat fire-resisting,
though this may be due to its being found amongst the dry-zone
vegetation. The stem is short and the two forks often crooked, so that
little or no use is made of the wood by the natives. The seeds are
turned into buttons, and so have recently obtained a value for this
purpose. They were first sent to England from the Soudan, where
apparently the tree is much more common than in West Africa.
_Borassus flabelliformis_, var. _Æthiopica_. Palmyra or Black Run Palm,
Fan Palm, Bottle Palm, Arac Palm. Agbon, Olodu, Igoti (Yoruba); Oluwa
(Benin).
It is a common tree in the dry-zone forest regions of Ibadan, Benin,
Onitsha, and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. This palm, with the swollen
upper part of the bole making it appear more like a large inverted
bottle, is thus not to be mistaken for any other. The huge fan-shaped
leaves distinguish it from either the Coconut Palm or the Oil Palm. In
the distance, too, the leaves appear more silvery-green, and not the
yellow-green of the Coconut, or the bright, fresh green of the Oil
Palm, or the sombre dark green of the Wine Palm. A large mass of
coconut-shaped nuts, but with a smoother, more yellow surface, and
more cylindrical in shape, without the ridges of the coconut, are
another feature of this tree. At the base of each nut the old sepals
of the flower remain, appearing like large dark-brown leaf scars. The
young seedlings are easily seen amongst the grass, sticking up as they
do like little silvery-green fans of varying size, in detail showing
the folds of a fan most distinctly, the leaf opening out in a similar
way to a fan. The bole is dark brown and practically smooth, showing
no leaf scars, and only faintly lined vertically down the stem. The
base is only slightly swollen, and the roots do not form a large mound
round it, as is the case with the Oil Palm, and to some extent with
the Tombo Palm. Inside the fruit there are two or three large,
flattish nuts.
The timber is fibrous, hard, but very durable and quite termite proof.
Although the upper part of the stem is hollow, long sectional pieces,
four by two, and even thicker, can be cut out. It planes up with a
smooth surface, and the grain looks very pretty with the thick fibres.
It nails fairly well and splits longitudinally.
It is a light-loving tree, moderately fast growing for a palm. It is
usually found growing gregariously in groups of a few acres up to
hundreds of acres in extent. However, it is rarely thick enough to
thoroughly shade the ground. Natural regeneration is good, even though
in most areas annual grass-fires run through the trees and to some
extent char the fruit. No plantations have been made of these species.
The timber has not been exported, but locally it has been used for
house-building, as well as for fences near the railway. The natives
occasionally use it for house-building, but they do not know how to
tap it for the wine. The leaves are sometimes used for making
temporary shelters. The fruit is sometimes eaten, and has a pleasant
taste. The nuts might be exported for making into buttons.
=Cyanastraceæ.=
_Cyanastrum cordifolium_. Ikoto.
It has an edible fruit. Found in the Benin province of Nigeria.
=Liliaceæ.=
_Dracæna sp._ Dragon’s Blood. Ewanenimi (Benin).
It has a very long, thin leaf of the usual monocotyledonous type and
with a somewhat branched stem, with thin papery bark.
It is fairly common in the Benin country. It is one of the few
monocotyledonous trees of the forest, and thus easily distinguishable
from other trees. The parallel veins of the leaf are very long and
laid fairly close together. The stem is very porous and not woody,
being more fibrous in type. It reaches a girth of about 4 feet and a
height of 40 feet.
_Native Use._—The leaves are used by the natives medicinally; and
occasionally the sap is used to blind people.
_Dracæna surculosa_. Dragon’s Blood. Ope, Igbo.
Is found in Olokemeji.
_Dracæna cylindrica_. Boundary tree. Peregun (Yoruba); Ukpogun, Ogihu
(Benin).
Found in the Olokemeji Reserve.
_Dracæna cylindrica_. Boundary tree. Peregun (Yoruba); Ukpogun, Ogihu
(Benin).
It has a wider and shorter leaf than the Ewanenimi tree, but again
with the parallel veins, which are, of course, typical of the
monocotyledon. It does not really form proper timber, but the stem is
of a spongy, fibrous nature. It reaches a girth of about 5 feet and a
height of about 50 feet. It usually has one stem, which is unbranched
for a very considerable length, but sometimes a whole group will grow
up in one place.
Both this and the former species are propagated very easily by
cuttings. In fact, it is possible to take the end of a branch complete
with the leaves and put it in the ground, when it will grow. It likes
a comparatively deep moist soil, though it will stand any amount of
drought without actually dying. It stands pruning well and grows
moderately rapidly.
It is useful for making live fences.
_Native Use._—Both Yorubas and Benis use the tree for boundaries,
simply sticking cuttings in wherever it is wished to mark a place.
“Ju-ju” places are also marked in this way. The leaves are used
medicinally in Benin.
_Dracæna Perrottetii_. Boundary tree. Ope, Kanakan (Yoruba).
Found in the Mamu Forest.
_Dracæna sp._ Boundary tree. Oro Igbo (Yoruba); Uruaro (Benin).
A common Dracæna found in the Benin and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.
It is often used for making fences to farms and boundaries for village
or farm land, and for marking special “Ju-ju” places. The Benin people
state that it has more latex than the other species of this genus.
=Marantaceæ.=
_Clinogyne_, syn. _Donax cuspidata_. Yoruba Soft Cane. Toto (Y.).
It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. It is a small soft
cane which grows gregariously in groups from a quarter to half an acre
in extent in the Olokemeji Reserve, to a height of about 5 feet, and
has large, alternating, very fine parallel-veined leaves.
Inflorescence, raceme or panicle-like bracts, deciduous. Some species
yield starch or fibre. Toto is found quite abundantly in the middle of
the Olokemeji Reserve. It is used for mat-making, and considered most
valuable.
=Orchidaceæ.=
_Polystachya sp._ (Lindl.). Eme-ela (Yoruba).
It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve in the Abeokuta province of
Nigeria.
_Polystachya odorata_. Afoma (Yoruba).
This is a parasitic plant, very similar to mistletoe, which attacks
many kinds of trees and has recently been found on the six-year-old
teak at Mamu and Olokemeji, in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria.
=Ulmaceæ.=
_Celtis solenostigma_. Hard Celtis (large). Ita (Yoruba); Ita, Uta
(Ikale); Ohianamemme, Ohia (Benin); Omoin, Itako, Ita gangan (Egba).
It is found in the Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ondo, Benin, Owerri, and Ogoja
provinces of Nigeria, in the mixed deciduous forest zone, where it is
usually very prevalent. In many places it is almost gregarious.
It is a large tree 10 feet in girth, with smooth stem and large, long,
thin buttresses. It has a bigger leaf (6 inches) than the other Ita,
with a very prominent mid vein on the leaf.
The fruit is dark coloured. The root buttresses are very long and
thin, extending sometimes 15 feet up the trunk of the tree. They are,
however, shallower and thinner than in the case of mahogany and cotton
trees. They merge gradually at an angle of about 15 degrees into the
stem. The bole may reach a length of about 90 feet, and is usually
very straight. The crown is compressedly spherical, rather shallow in
proportion to the size of the tree, but fairly wide-spreading.
Occasionally, if the bark has a yellow tinge, especially in smaller
specimens, the tree may be mistaken for Opele, _Schrebera
Golungensis_.
Timber is white and very hard, and splits well when it is dry. When
dry it is inclined to be brittle, though it shows considerable lateral
strength. The texture of the grain is fine, and it planes up with a
smooth surface. It is liable to split with nails, but it saws well.
Under cover it is durable; in the open, unless very carefully dried,
it is liable to decay. When thoroughly dry it hardens very
considerably, and is not attacked by white ants, especially when used
in a suitable place. When dry it will float, but the wood is liable to
become discoloured by contact with water.
As firewood it burns slowly, gently and steadily, giving out much
heat. It is a fairly rapid-growing tree, at first shade-bearing and
later somewhat light-demanding; in the older stages it scarcely
protects the soil. Up to the pole stage it is a soil-improving tree,
the leaves making a rich humus. Natural regeneration appears to be
good. It does not sprout from the stump. Considering its size it is
fairly wind-firm. No plantations have been made of this tree.
The timber has not been exported, not has it been sawn up for local
use. Considering its prevalence, it deserves a trial.
_Native Use._—It is considered the best firewood in Benin, and also
used as firewood among the Yorubas.
_Celtis sp.?_ Soft Celtis (small). Ita ita (Yoruba); Ohia (Benin).
It is found in the Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ondo, Benin, and Ogoja provinces
of Nigeria, in the mixed deciduous forest zone, where it is very
prevalent.
It is a medium-sized tree up to 4 feet in girth, with medium sized,
thin leaves and white-coloured twigs. The stem is slightly scaly and
yellowish-green in colour, especially in the upper parts. A very
common tree in the deciduous forest. With its yellowish-green bark in
the upper part of the bole it is very similar to Opele, _Schrebera
Golungensis_, and can often be mistaken for it. The trunk, however, is
not slightly pitted, as is the case with Schrebera. On the whole, this
tree is shorter, reaching a height of about 40 feet. The root
buttresses are much slighter than in the case of _C. solenostigma_,
though they are of a similar shape, being very thin and merging
gradually into the trunk to a height of about 5 feet from the ground.
Timber is white and fairly hard, but not durable. It hardens somewhat
on exposure to the air. The texture of the grain is fine, but
occasionally cross-grained. It planes moderately well, and takes nails
moderately well also, more so than _C. solenostigma_. It saws easily
and splits well.
As a firewood it burns steadily and slowly, giving out great heat. It
does not crackle nor cause sparks.
It is a moderately fast growing, at first shade-bearing, and
subsequently a light-demanding tree. During most of its life it is a
soil-protecting and soil-improving tree. Natural regeneration is good.
It sprouts a little from the stump, but not strong enough for purposes
of reproduction.
The timber has not been exported, nor has it been sawn up for planks
for local use. Being smaller than _C. solenostigma_, after trial it
may not be found so useful, but it could be used for similar purposes.
_Native Use._—Firewood of the best kind, and occasionally used as side
house-posts.
_Trema Africana_. African Elm. Ehunogo, Ehrunbogo (Benin); Affi (Ibadan
and Oyo); Afoforo (Egba); Offun (Lagos).
It is found in the Abeokuta, Ibadan and Benin provinces of Nigeria, in
the mixed deciduous forests, where it is moderately prevalent.
It is a medium-sized tree with nettle-like leaves, which wither
rapidly. It has a very thin, smooth bark. The fruit is small, thin and
long, and is eaten by pigeons. It grows up where old trees fall in the
forest, and is also a common tree in old farms. Medium-sized specimens
are in general appearance, from a little distance, very similar to
Iroko, and it can be mistaken for this tree. The crown, however, is
narrower, and the foliage is somewhat thicker, and the leaves and
branches are placed rather closer together than those of Iroko. The
bark is slightly fissured, and does not show lenticels like the Iroko,
especially not on the roots. In proportion to the size of the tree,
the root spurns are larger than in the case of Iroko. It it usually
found growing singly, whereas groups of Iroko are often common, or
anyhow several are found in one locality.
The timber is white and of medium hardness, but very durable indeed.
It is termite proof. It planes well, but does not split easily. It
saws well and takes nails fairly easily.
It is of fairly rapid growth, at first shade-bearing, and later a
somewhat light-demanding tree, with soil-protecting and soil-improving
qualities. Natural regeneration only appears to be moderate. It
sprouts from the stump.
The timber has not been exported, not has it been sawn up for local
use.
_Native Use._—The timber is used amongst the Benis as rafters and
ceilings for house-building, as it is uncut or squared.
_Trema affinis_ or _T. Africana_. African Elm. Afofero (Yoruba).
Found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria.
=Moraceæ.=
_Antiaris toxiaria_. False Oroko. Oro Aiyo, (Egba) (Yoruba); Ogiovu
(Benin).
It is a common tree in the Calabar, Ogoja, Owerri, Warri, Benin, Ondo,
Ibadan and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.
It is a large tree, reaching a girth of 15 feet and a bole length of
70 feet, of very cylindrical shape. There are large surface roots,
which stick up out of the ground on roadsides, but form only low root
spurns. The bark is grey, smooth and almost shiny in the sun. The
crown is heavier and less open than Iroko, but otherwise in habit it
is similar. The leaves on the whole are smaller and the foliage
generally is of a lighter green than the Iroko, except when the latter
puts on new leaves in February or March. The fruit is a little
spherically shaped nut with a papery covering easily removed,
disclosing a round nut with small markings all round it. Two kernels
are found inside on cracking it. The slash is yellowish white, and
gradually a little thin white latex exudes. The tree usually appears
after a few years on abandoned farms. The leaf is rough to the hand,
almost as bad as _Ficus asperata_, but there are no hairs on the under
surface. On the whole the branches are much flatter than Oroko, though
the top of the crown is round. The timber is soft and white all
through. Termites attack it. It is very light and might almost pass as
a substitute for cork. It has large and wide medullary rays, more
especially in the root. In cross section the root looks almost porous.
_Native Use._—Amongst the Yorubas the bark is used medicinally and the
wood for doors, benches and matchet handles.
It grows very fast and likes light. Scale insects like to make their
nests in a junction of a branch with the stem, where there is quite a
hollow. In youth the firm and almost horizontal branches are quite a
contrast to the long, up-shooting or drooping branches of Oroko. It
has not been cut either for local use or for export.
The roots are used for making corks in the Calabar district.
It is used often as a “Ju-ju” tree, like the Iroko, chiefly in the
Calabar Division. The hunters sit near the tree, when in fruit,
because the Maxwell’s Duika, Yellow-backed Duika, Red-headed Duika,
etc., eat the fruit. The bark is used in sections for making bags by
sewing the two ends together, as well as one side.
_Antiaris sp._ Ovu (Benin).
It is a common tree in the Benin and Ondo provinces of Nigeria. It is
medium-sized, reaching a girth of 9 feet and a bole length of about 50
feet. The leaf is larger, but the crown appears thicker and heavier
than _Antiaris toxiaria_. The seed is the same size as _Antiaris T._,
but the root spurns are very slight, even less than _Antiaris T._ The
branches spread out from the stem, thus making the crown longer and
narrower than _Antiaris T._ In this respect the _Antiaris sp._ is more
like the Oroko than the _Antiaris T._
The timber is white and soft. No proper heartwood. It splits well.
It is a shade-bearer and is often found in the thick forest. It grows
much slower than _Antiaris T._
It has not been cut for local use or exported to Europe. Perhaps it
could be tried for wood pulp.
In Benin the branches of this tree are used for making figures of
their ancestors, which are placed outside the house. The bark is used
for making bags in a similar way to that of _Antiaris T._ It is also
used for making rope or string for tying bags.
_Antiaris sp._ Cedar-like Lauro. Oregbon I (Yoruba); Opputtu (Benin).
It is a common tree found in the Benin and Abeokuta provinces of
Nigeria. It is very similar in habit and shape to the _Antiaris
toxiaria_, but it does not attain nearly such a large size. The tree
exudes very fine, white latex in a very small quantity. The timber is
soft and white and not durable.
[Illustration: FIG. 53.—=Mature Opepe (Sarcocephalus esculentus), in
middle of picture, across Ogun River, Olokemeji Forest Reserve.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 54.—=Mature Oganwo (Khaya Punchii), near Dajopa,
Olokemeji Reserve, showing base of stem for nearly 12 feet stripped of
bark.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 55.—=Large Emido (Mimusops multinervis), 10 feet in
girth, Dajopa, Olokemeji Reserve.=]
To face p. 250.
It is a soil-protecting and soil-improving tree, and stands a good
deal of shade. The tree has not been cut for local use, nor has it
been tried as a timber for export.
_Ficus sp._ Common Fig. Obobo (Yoruba); Ohau (Benin).
It is a common tree of the Calabar, Ogoja, Owerri, Warri, Benin, Ondo,
Ibadan and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria. One of the most typical
features of this tree is its free growth, open crown, and green,
yellow and orange-coloured bark from the base upwards. It is a medium-
sized tree, attaining a girth of 10 feet. The small red-coloured figs
attract pigeons especially, as well as other birds, to the trees in
the fruiting season. The leaf is small for a Ficus and oval in shape.
The wood is white and soft. The white latex which exudes from the
trunk when cut distinguishes this tree from the satinwood, _Afrormosia
laxiflora_, with which it might be confused owing to the similar
shades of green, yellow and orange-colour of the bark. It is chiefly
found in the secondary forest, also near villages in the evergreen
forest zone. Owing to the parrots and pigeons carrying the seed,
reproduction from this source, both in epiphytic and tree form, is
very good, but it is most usually found growing alone in an open
place, without any support from other trees. It is very fast growing
and impatient of shade.
The wood has not been used locally nor for export, nor does the native
apparently have any use for it, as it soon rots when cut down.
The native occasionally eats the ripe fruit.
_Ficus exasperata_. Emido, Oboba (Yoruba).
This tree is found in the Abeokuta province.
_Ficus Thonningii_. Opoto (Yoruba).
This is one of the smaller fig-trees of the mixed deciduous zone. As
with the others, it is not used as a timber tree, but occasionally for
fences.
_Ficus triangularis_. Abadan (Yoruba); Obadan-nikwi (Benin).
It is a common tree in the Benin, Ibadan and Abeokuta provinces of
Nigeria. It is chiefly found in the mixed deciduous forests. It is of
no use as a timber tree, but is used occasionally for fences by the
natives.
_Ficus Vogelii_. Lagos, Abba or Abbo Rubber. Abadon (Yoruba); Obadan
(Benin).
It is the common tree of the Calabar, Ogoja, Onitsha, Benin, Ondo and
Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria. This is the most common fig-tree, and
is usually found along the sides of roads in the native villages. The
very large, shiny leaf (not quite as glossy as _Ficus Indica_) is one
of the most typical features of this tree. In Benin it is usually
deciduous for about thirty-six hours, and the pinkish tips of the
fresh leaves and the great rapidity of their development are
remarkable. The bark is dark brown and rougher than the other species.
In the Benin Forestry Compound there is a large specimen. On the
whole, it is less common in the evergreen forest than near villages or
roads. In the forest it is most often found as an epiphyte growing on
oil palms, Sasswood, and oil-bean trees. The timber is white and soft;
it has not been used for local purposes nor for exports. The “Balata
rubber” of the Upper Niger district is obtained by roughly coagulating
the latex of this tree in the air, with or without reagents, such as
the latex of _Bauhinia reticulata_, or salt. The natives use the tree
for making fences by sticking in pieces of the stem of suitable
length, and in a similar manner it is used as a shade tree on the
sides of roads in the villages. This is more especially the case in
the villages in the dry zone, where other shade trees are scarce.
Pigeons and parrots spread the seed, and thus its reproduction is
assured.
_Ficus platyphylla_. Gambia Rubber.
It is also found in the upper reaches of the Ogan River, in the Ogo
province of Nigeria.
_Ficus asperata_. Sandpaper Leaf. Ekpin (Yoruba); Ameme (Benin).
It is a common tree in the Ogoja, Owerri, Benin, Onitsha, Ibadan, Ondo
and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.
It is often found as a small, scrubby tree, though when fully grown it
reaches a girth of 8 feet, especially in the Benin province. The rough
leaves are harsh to the touch.
The pigeons are very fond of eating the fruit and seeds.
The wood is white and soft.
The leaf is of the usual Ficus style, with a short stalk and deeply
dentated, making almost a five-lobed leaf.
The leaves might be useful as a substitute for sandpaper. It has not
so far been cut for export or local use.
_Native Use._—The leaves are used for cleaning calabashes by the
Yorubas and Benin people.
_Ficus sp._ Ograw (Yoruba).
Found in the Abeokuta province.
_Musanga Smithii_. Cork-wood or Umbrella Tree. Agbawo or Aga (Yoruba);
Ogohen (Benin); Oro (Brass).
It is a very common tree, found growing in new clearings amongst the
evergreen and mixed forests of the Calabar, Ogoja, Owerri, Onitsha
(?), Warri, Benin, Ondo, Ibadan and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.
It is a medium-sized tree with an umbrella-shaped crown. It is the
most distinctly gregarious tree of any in the forest, often alone
covering many acres of land, supported on a series of aerial roots,
the centre one of which is really the tap-root. The tree looks
altogether top-heavy when mature (it is short-lived). It reaches a
girth of nearly 5 feet. The bark is thin and of a light brown colour,
spotted here and there with large yellow lenticels. The large pink
sheath containing the immature staminate flower is often found lying
on the forest pathway after the storm. The leaf is reminiscent of the
horse chestnut, but with about eight digits. The young leaflet is of
an orange-red colour. It is doubtful if it passes an age of thirty
years.
The timber is white and soft, with no distinguishing heartwood, but
with brown pith half an inch in diameter. When properly dried it has a
fine, smooth grain and is usually free of knots. It dries much harder
than when freshly cut. It splits well, but it is rather brittle.
It is the quickest growing of all the African forest trees, and
certainly reaches timber size before any other. Regeneration by seed
is prolific, seeds often germinating after lying dormant for over a
hundred years, when a heavy forest is cut down. It is a light-lover,
protecting the soil with its heavy foliage, and enriching it by making
a good mould when it falls to the ground. It will stand a little shade
as a young seedling. Very few trees will grow under it, though it is a
useful “nurse.”
The timber is used for floating other wood heavier than water, but it
has not been exported or cut for local use. The roots are used
medicinally, and hunters tap the tree for water in the dry season.
_Native Use._—As the Yoruba name implies, a group of the aerial roots
is used for a native chair. Young 6-inch stems, split in half, cut
about 4 feet long and dried, are used upright to form the walls of
temporary farm-buildings. The wood is also used in place of cork, and
for making matchets and knife scabbards in the Benin and Ibo countries
respectively.
_Chlorophora excelsa_. African Oak, African Teak. Iroko (male), Iroko
(female), Oba’s Tree, Rock Elm. Iroko (Yoruba); Uloko, Oroko
Ulokoodigpe, Uloko-nushinogbon (Benin); Odji (Ibo, Asaba); Ofryio
(Efik); Nsan (Oban, Ekoi).
It is a very large forest tree, reaching a girth of 30 feet and a bole
length of 90 feet under favourable conditions. The male tree is
usually thinner and of more compressed build, whereas the female shows
more spreading growth and larger size; it is also quicker growing than
the male. The female has stout, finger-thick, solid catkins, whereas
the male has thin, long, open catkins up to 6 inches long. The timber
of the male is darker brown and closer grained than that of the
female, and also harder. The sapwood is wider in the female tree, but
there is also a very wide difference between trees of both genders
when they are grown in the open, old farms, or in dense, high forest,
the latter yielding the hardest and closest-grained timber. The crown
is almost umbrella-shaped and open, so that the leaves appear large in
proportion, and it is usually possible to see through it. Three or
four large limbs form the mainstay of it (see plate No. 37). The
yellow lenticels on the stem, especially in younger specimens, and
also on the red roots, are typical of the tree. The slash is
yellowish, with little red spots in it. A little white latex flows out
too.
In proportion to the size of the tree the root spurns are not very
large, reaching 3 or 4 feet up the tree, and being well rounded, do
not spoil the shape of the base of the bole. In older specimens the
bark becomes brown, and finally almost grey in colour, and scales off
to a slight extent. Although it forms very large side roots, it has a
tap-root going to considerable depth. The loose seeds are small and
flat, being not unlike those of alder, but rather larger and thinner.
It is found in all the Southern Provinces of Nigeria, both in the
evergreen and mixed forest zones, where it is none too prevalent.
_Timber._—Sapwood is yellowish white, and the heartwood of a yellow
brown to dark brown (oak to teak brown). It is moderately hard, very
durable and termite-proof. It does not plane very well, being
sometimes cross-grained; it can, however, be worked up to a smooth
finish. The grain is rather open and the pores very long. It has,
however, an oily feel, and a certain amount of sheen. It takes nails
with difficulty, splits moderately well and saws easily. It soon
darkens on exposure to the air and light, becoming in this respect
much darker than oak in a similar period. When seasoned properly it
does not warp excessively. If taken green from the forest zone into a
drier climate it will split. In the past a good deal of timber has
been used in this state.
It is a moderately fast-growing, at first shade-bearing and
subsequently a light-demanding tree, with soil-protecting and soil-
improving qualities. It is deciduous for a few weeks in the year,
generally in February or March, but specimens vary a great deal in
this respect. Natural regeneration is very good, and in suitable
localities it tends to spread more and more with the advance of the
native farms into the forest. It stands transplanting very badly.
Nursery sowings, however, show an enormous percentage of germination,
the seedlings often coming up more thickly than grass. The ground pig
eats the roots of transplanted seedlings, especially in localities
where there are less desirable trees. It will grow as much as 6 feet
in one year, and wherever it has much light in the forest, self-sown
seedlings will grow 3 or 4 feet each year. The leaves are attacked by
a minute coccus which causes them to swell up into an irregular shape,
including the bud, thus stopping the growth for that season. Inside
each of these swellings there are several of the young insects. Only
the younger trees are attacked, and from the pole stage onwards trees
do not appear to suffer nearly so much. In localities, too, where the
trees grow very rapidly they appear to be less attacked, if at all. It
is not very susceptible to fire, though in the mixed deciduous the
base of the stem is often burnt. It is one of the most storm-firm of
all the African trees. The bole is very cylindrical, especially if the
tree which has been growing in the forest is given plenty of space to
grow. The increment put on the bole is very great, being as much as 11
inches in circumference in one year.
In 1906 sample logs of this timber were sold in the Liverpool market
as Iroko at 5d. per superficial foot, sale measure. Since that date it
has been sold as African Oak and African Teak at a similar price, and
appears now to be fairly well established in the market. As there are
large supplies in many districts, such as the Yoruba country, Onitsha,
Ahoada and Ogoja districts, there should be no difficulty in keeping
the market supplied with moderate quantities year by year, at perhaps,
though, slightly increasing costs. Locally the tree has been felled
and sawn up for planks, scantlings, rafters, beams and general
constructional work. By the Railway Administration it has thus far
been considered the best wood for sleepers. Amongst the natives it is
often worth more than it is to the European, the price varying from
half a crown to 4s. 6d. per cubic foot for sawn boards 12 feet long,
12 inches wide and 1 inch thick.
_Native Use._—The most valued of all woods for wall-plates and door
lintels, treasure-boxes, washing-basins for chiefs. Doors, too, are
made of it in Benin. Women place little pieces of chalk, yams,
plantains, cowries, coco yams at the base of the tree, and it is said
they will be blessed with children. Chiefs sacrifice a goat with a mat
and a fine white cloth to propitiate the witches, who are supposed to
hold their court in the Iroko tree and try to catch one of the sons of
the chief.
_Treculia Africana_ (Decne). African Breadfruit. Afon (Yoruba); Ije
(Benin); Ijeni (fruit).
This tree is usually found near the edge of the villages of the
Calabar, Benin, Ondo and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.
It grows to a large size, with a bole length of 20 feet and a girth of
9 feet, but it is usually a rather open-crowned, spreading tree. For
its size the foliage is not over-dense. The leaves are single and
roughly lanceolate, with a dark-green and rather shiny upper surface.
The most conspicuous feature of this tree is the huge green, perfectly
spherical-shaped fruit. Immature fruits of all sizes, from a cricket-
ball upwards to a size of 18 inches in diameter, are seen growing
close against the stem of the trunk and bigger branches of the tree.
Some years ago, one of these ripe fruits fell off a tree at the edge
of the Benin market and struck a woman on the shoulder with such force
that she died a few days later. The natives subsequently cut the tree
down.
The chief use of the tree is the fruit, which is placed in water to
rot so that the seeds can be more easily extracted from the
concentrically arranged fibres growing from the centre of the fruit
outwards to the periphery. These are subsequently cooked and eaten,
often being beaten up in a soup. From the outside the fruit looks as
if it were made up of thousands of little green fibres closely packed
together from the centre of the fruit, with the ends sticking out on
the surface, thus giving it a rough feeling to the touch and making it
appear as if it were full of holes.
The junction of a branch with the stem shows a large swelling all
round the base of the branch, which thins out to its regular size
about 6 to 9 inches away from the trunk.
The tree is comparatively slow-growing, but of a soil-protecting and
light-loving nature. In the dry season, great quantities of dew
condense on this tree, so that underneath the soil is kept moist.
Probably more dew falls on this tree than _Myrianthus arboreus_, which
shows a similar feature.
Thus far the wood has not been used for any purpose.
_Treculia sp._ Small-fruited African Breadfruit. Izenagan (Benin).
Found in the Benin province.
_Morus sp._ Aye (Yoruba).
It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve of the Abeokuta province in
Nigeria.
_Myrianthus arboreus_. Shapo Obibere (Yoruba); Ihege (Benin).
It is a small to medium-sized tree, with short stem rarely exceeding 8
feet in height, and a much-branched, heavy crown, with very large
leaf, cut up in the form of a large digit, much more pronounced than
the horse chestnut. The leaves, on falling, rot and form a heavy layer
of black humus. In the dry season the dew condenses to such an extent
on the leaves that the tree drips in the morning, and the
neighbourhood of such trees is always moist when the rest of the
forest is dry.
The large, rough, elongated, pear-shaped fruit, like an overgrown
sweetsop, is quite characteristic of this tree.
It is found in the Ondo, Benin, Owerri, Warri, Calabar and Ogoja
provinces of Nigeria.
It is scarcely big enough for timber, but would make a good
undergrowth for a light-loving species such as mahogany or teak, and
would kill all weeds on good soil. Usually found on good soil. The
timber is white and soft.
_No botanical name_. Iragbo-Amuje (Yoruba); Igogo (Benin).
It is a large tree with almost hard white wood, more the texture of
Triplochiton. The fruit is a drupe, with a small nut inside. Termites
do not attack the wood. It is a quick-growing tree, which comes up
very frequently in old farms.
It is a common tree in the Benin country.
It is a shade-bearer.
_Native Use._—In the Benin country it is used for door lintels and
cross-pieces in house-building.
=Urticaceæ.=
_Urera_. Ela (Yoruba); Akinrankiri (Benin).
Found in the Yoruba and Benin countries.
=Proteaceæ.=
_Faurea speciosa_. Red-brown timber.
Found in the Calabar province.
=Olacaceæ.=
_Heisteria parvifolia_. White Nut (?). Ikereoha (Benin).
It rarely exceeds the height of about 8 feet and a girth of about 1
foot.
This is a small shrub with red flowers of four petals at right angles
to each other, in the middle of which a white-coloured fruit forms. On
peeling off the white skin, a black nut is disclosed, which is edible.
It tastes more like a hazel-nut. The red flower is the most
distinguishing feature, and makes this plant show up amongst the
evergreen zone.
It is found in the Ondo, Benin, and Calabar provinces of Nigeria.
It is a shade-bearing and slow-growing shrub, with soil-protecting and
soil-improving qualities. It serves a very useful purpose amongst the
undergrowth in the forest. Natural regeneration appears to be fair,
but no plantations have been made with this species. The nuts have not
been tested in the export market. Amongst the natives the nuts are
very popular, and it is the only use which they have for this shrub.
This chiefly refers to the Benin district.
_Heisteria sp.?_. Benin Nut, Edible Nut. Evialegbi (Benin).
It is found chiefly in the Benin province of Nigeria, though probably
its area of distribution extends to the Ondo and Ogoja provinces as
well. It is a tall, comparatively thin-boled tree in proportion to its
height. Attaining a girth of about 8 feet, the bole is 40 feet in
length. The bark is dull green and not very thick, being more in the
nature of cortex than real bark. The most typical feature of the tree
is the fruit, which is a spherically-shaped nut with a pointed tip.
When dry, it is marked with shallow groves about half a millimetre
apart, all converging to the tip. When cracked, the kernel obtained is
rather pleasant to the taste, with plenty of oil. The timber is a
yellowish colour and moderately hard. It is fairly durable, though it
is attacked by a small wood-borer when it is left lying in the forest.
It is a moderately fast-growing tree, but is a shade-bearing, soil
protecting and improving tree. Natural regeneration appears to be
poor. No plantations have yet been made with it, but its yield of nuts
should be tested. The timber has not yet been exported, nor has it
been cut for local use. So far, the chief use of the tree is the nut,
but even here proper tests have not yet been made, and it is only the
natives who really know the tree. The exact oil content has yet to be
tested.
_Coula edulis_. Nkula in the Gaboon, Gaboon Nut. Omumu (Benin).
An edible nut containing oil. It is nearly round in shape, but
slightly depressed at the top, with a soft shell.
_Chief Characteristics._—The tree is of medium size, with narrow crown
and small leaves, the fruit being borne on the upper side of the
branches. It is moderately common near Ugo and also on the Siluko road
(both in Benin). This is apparently a rare tree in reality, and it may
be mistaken for Ivialegbi.
The timber is brown with a red tinge, almost hard.
_Native Use._—The nut decorticated is sold in the native markets and
eaten as a delicacy.
_Value._—According to report made some years ago, it was valued at £7
per ton in Liverpool. It was difficult to get sufficient for a sample.
=Loranthaceæ.=
_Loranthus leptolobus_. African Mistletoe, or Red-flowering Loranthus.
Found in the Yoruba and Benin country.
=Menispermaceæ.=
_Cissampelos Owariensis_. Ebewaki (Benin).
A medicinal plant.
_Cissampelos Pareira_ (L.). Jokoye (Yoruba).
It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve of the Abeokuta province of
Nigeria.
=Anonaceæ.=
_Enantia polycarpa_ (Kew). Abeokuta Bark, Kanda or Canta Bark. Ghido
(Yoruba).
Found in the Egba province.
_Enantia chlorantha_. African Yellow Wood. Yaru (Yoruba); Ehranbabogo
(Benin).
It is a common tree of the Ondo, Benin, Owerri, Ogoja and Calabar
provinces of Nigeria.
It is a medium-sized tree, attaining a girth of 5 feet and a bole
length of 25 feet. The most peculiar feature of the tree is the fruit,
a bundle of reddish clubs all coming out of the twig at one point. The
stem is dull green, with scattered lenticels here and there. The bole
is uneven near the base and almost divided by large spurns, which
makes it difficult to cut out a square log. Standing in dense shade
usually, and often with a piece of the bark removed, showing the
yellow cambium layer or wood, it is easily distinguished from other
trees.
The yellow wood is similar both in the sap and in the heartwood. It
splits well, even into tiny thin, lath-like pieces. It is soft, but
planes up into a smooth surface. The medullary rays are often
prominent, and make the wood look very pretty. The sheen of the wood
also adds to its appearance.
The tree is a shade-bearer and rather slow-growing; perhaps in more
open localities it would grow faster. Natural regeneration does not
appear to be good, though more extensive observations on this point
may reveal more. Small quantities of seed are borne each year. It
sprouts a little from the stump, but this method of reproduction
cannot be relied upon. Cuttings have not yet been tried. It likes a
good moist soil of the evergreen forest and lower parts of the mixed
deciduous forest. It has not yet received a place in the forest
plantations.
Samples of the timber have been tried in England and used with good
effect as a substitute for American “Whitewood,” to which it is
similar in texture. Its small size rather hinders its more extensive
use. In the Benin district it is used as cross-pieces and rafters in
building; wooden shovels are also made from it. It is occasionally
used to make a yellow dye, especially the bark. Native caps are made
from the bark, which is fibrous. It is also used for verandah-posts
and door-frames.
_Dennettia tripetala_. Igberi (Yoruba); Ako (Benin).
It is a common tree in the Benin, Ondo (?) and Abeokuta provinces of
Nigeria.
It is a medium-sized tree, reaching a maximum girth of 6 feet, with a
short bole and a much-branched crown. Most commonly seen as a shrub-
like tree in the mixed deciduous forest. The flower has three petals,
with red colour inside and brown outside. The flowers grow on the stem
or the twigs with little or no stalk, usually two or three in one
place.
The timber, which is white and soft, is eaten by termites. There is no
proper heartwood.
It is a shade-bearer, and rather slow-growing tree. It likes good
soil, and is rather an indication of a loose, good and deep soil.
It has not been exported or used locally.
_Native Use._—The fruit, which has a peppery taste, is eaten. The
chiefs only eat the fruit after it has become red and really ripe. The
small boys use the new young leaves uncooked to make the mouth warm
when the rain falls.
_Dennettia sp._ Agedegbo, Ako (Benin).
This tree was determined from specimens obtained in the early part of
1917 from Olokemeji, where it is somewhat common. Owing to the fact
that only immature and mature fruiting specimens were sent, it may be
identical with _Dennettia tripetala_. It is, however, a much smaller
tree, and the fruit is not nearly so large and is a more oblong shape
than _D. tripetala_. It is a small, much-branched tree and yields a
hard, whitish-yellow wood which might be used as substitute for
lancewood. The Benis eat the fruit, but the Yorubas have no use for
the tree.
_Xylopia Æthiopica_. Negro Pepper. Eru (Yoruba); Unie (Benin); Atta
(Efik).
Is a medium-sized tree with silvery smooth, grey trunk, and found
growing near the banks of rivers in all the southernmost provinces of
Nigeria.
[Illustration: FIG. 56.—=Large-leaved Mahogany (Khaya grandis), 14 feet
in girth, with smaller Iroko (Chlorophora excelsa) standing at the side,
Olokemeji Forest Reserve.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 57.—=Arere (Triplochiton Nigericum), 120 feet high,
thirty years old.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 58.—=Ebony (Diospyros mespiliformis), 7 feet 6
inches in girth, on Dajopa Road, Olokemeji Reserve.=]
To face p. 260.
It is stated to be useful for oars and masts for small boats,
according to the report on the Exhibition of 1867. Since that date,
however, it has not been used for this purpose. The bole reaches a
girth of about 5 feet and a length of about 45 feet. The crown is
narrow and comparatively long, but rather compressed and compact. The
foliage is dense and comparatively close together. The root spurns are
slight and narrow, not extending very far up the bole. In proportion
to its height the trunk is thin and very cylindrical in shape, though
occasionally near the base it may not be absolutely round and tends to
bulge out rather more on one surface than the other. The fruit, when
ripe, is like a bunch of black keys, or little short, round-ended
pieces of wood, all projecting out of one central stalk or fork, which
is the most typical feature of the tree. The cortex is comparatively
thin, and remains smooth even in the mature trees. The bole tapers
only very slightly, and does not divide or send out any branches until
the crown is reached.
The sapwood is white, as also the heartwood, except that the latter
tends to have a very light yellowish-brown tinge, especially as it
seasons. It is moderately hard, showing great elasticity, planing with
a smooth surface, splitting moderately well, taking nails and not
warping or shrinking to any great extent. Even fresh it is
comparatively a dry wood. It saws well and shows considerable textile
strength, as also strength in compression, is moderately heavy and
termite-proof. The texture of the grain is very fine and even, and the
grain is very straight.
This tree is somewhat slow-growing, shade-bearing, soil-protecting,
and soil-improving. Natural regeneration is moderate. It does not
sprout from the stump. It stands a certain amount of flooding, but it
seems to demand a good soil with plenty of moisture, including a very
moist atmosphere. No plantations have been made of this tree.
The timber has not been felled for export, nor has it been cut for
local use, but it appears to deserve a trial as a substitute for
lancewood, or other woods which show considerable elasticity. It
should be noted that it belongs to the same family as that of the
lancewood. Owing to the straightness and comparative evenness of the
bole for a very considerable length, it might be suitable for shafts
or even telegraph poles.
The fruit is used as a kind of comestible amongst most of the natives,
as it has a peppery taste which is not unpleasant.
It is usually dried and sold in the native markets, several bunches
for a penny. By some it is almost looked upon as a medicine.
_Xylopia parviflora_ (Eng. and Diels). Small-flowering Negro Pepper.
Sesedo, Issa oku (Yoruba); Aghako or Oziza (?) (Benin).
This tree is found in the Abeokuta and Benin provinces of Nigeria,
where it is none too prevalent. It is a medium-sized tree with a very
straight, thin and tall bole. Except for its size it is very much like
_X. Æthiopica_; the fruit is much smaller and scarcely to be seen from
the ground. The timber is grey-white, and the heartwood, though
occasionally a light brown, is scarcely to be distinguished from the
sapwood. It is hard, durable, and said to be termite-proof. It does
not take nails easily, nor does it split well, but it saws
comparatively easily. Natural reproduction by seeds appears to be
poor. It scarcely sprouts from the stump. It is a shade-bearing, soil-
protecting and soil-improving tree.
The timber has not been exported. The bark and roots are used
medicinally.
It is used locally for house-building, as verandah-posts or supports
for the roof. It has considerable tensile strength and stands
compression better still.
_Anona Senegalensis_ (Pers.). Wild Custard Apple. Abo (Yoruba).
This is found in the Oyo and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. It is a
small, shrub-like tree, with a short stem of about 4 or 5 feet, and
has a very oval leaf, almost ovate in shape. It bears a yellow fruit
which divides up into the typical segments common to this family. It
resembles the Sugar Apple, has a delicious taste, and the fruit is
most refreshing on a hot day at the end of the dry season. The tree is
fire-resisting. Being deciduous, it is not a soil-improving tree. It
is soil-exacting, but is also found in rocky localities. The tree is
not very prolific, but sprouts very strongly from the stump and to a
less extent with root suckers. The small timber is occasionally used
for house-building.
_Anona palustris_ (Foster). Alligator Apple. Afe (Yoruba).
The wood is supposed to be soft, and to have been introduced into the
country some years ago.
It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. The fruit is edible,
the foliage dense and heavy. In the dry season the dew condenses on
the leaves and towards morning drips off on to the ground, thus
keeping the immediate vicinity of the tree quite moist. The leaves,
when decayed, make a rich humus. It is one of the most valuable soil-
improving trees.
_Anona Mannii_.
It grows in the forest region of the Central and South Provinces of
Nigeria. It is a medium-sized tree bearing large green fruit close to
the stem.
_Popowia Mannii_.
A specimen of this Popowia has been found in Alasko, near the Oha
River in the Ibadan province of Nigeria.
_Anona Afzelii_. Probably the same as _Dennettia sp._ Ako, Aggedegbo
(Benin).
It is found in the Abeokuta, Benin and Warri provinces of Nigeria.
It is a medium-sized tree of the more swampy parts or moister regions
of the evergreen forest zone. The leaves are a very large size, often
reaching a length of 1 foot. The wood is yellowish-white and soft and
not very durable. Owing to the very dense foliage, quite a thick layer
of humus is formed in the shade of the tree, so that its soil-
improving properties are very great. It would be a valuable tree for
underplanting mahogany or any deciduous tree, both with a view to
providing soil cover and improving the soil.
The natives do not use this wood.
_Hexalobus grandiflorus_ (Benth.) Afara (Yoruba).
Found in the Abeokuta province.
_Uvaria Afzelii_. Gbogbonshe (Yoruba).
It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. A small tree with
hard wood.
_Uvaria Busgenii_. Paddlewood. Umaja or Umazza (Benin); Uruiju Arogu
(Yoruba).
It is found in the Calabar, Ogoja (?), Benin, Ondo and Abeokuta
provinces of Nigeria.
It is a large tree, and reaches a girth of about 10 feet with a good
bole and limbs. The crown is narrowish, being formed by many small
branches. The bark is light green, scaling off and leaving yellow
patches with a red edge to each; otherwise it is smooth and almost
shining. It is a common tree of the evergreen forest. With the
exception of slight hollows near the base of the stem the bole is
quite round.
The timber is a faint orange-colour with a reddish tint. There is very
little difference between the heart and sap wood, except that the
former is a lighter colour. It splits well and planes into a smooth
surface. At the corner of a square block pieces are liable to split
off. The grain is a little open and the pores are rather long.
Termites (white ants) make no impression on it. The timber is hard,
with a certain amount of rigidity, and yet has no resilience.
It is a slow-growing tree and shade-bearer. Judging by the number of
small trees found, reproduction from seed must be good. It does not
sprout from the stool, and root suckers are thrown up after the trees
have been felled. It likes moist and deep soil, which must be
moderately good, e.g. the red soil of Benin and sandy loam of Badagry
district.
In 1906 samples of the wood were sold in the Liverpool market as
Sabicu and realized 1s. to 2s. per superficial foot. It has also been
used for European house-building in the Calabar province.
_Native Use._—It is chiefly used for making paddles. It is also used
for joists and posts by the Benin people.
_Uvaria Chamæ_ (Kew). Eruju (Yoruba).
It is a large shrub with sweet-scented flowers. Lagos Island.
_Artabotrys sp._ Ako gbogbonshe (Yoruba).
It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve of the Abeokuta province of
Nigeria.
_Monodora tenuifolia_. African Nutmeg. Lakosin (?) (Yoruba); Unyenghen
(Benin).
In younger trees there are a few narrow white streaks in the dull
green bark, which gives it quite a distinctive appearance.
_Chief Characteristics._—It is a medium-sized tree with yellow flowers
tinged with white, most conspicuous after they have fallen to the
ground. The flower has three petals with wavy edges, and reminds most
people of an orchid. In fact, many have asked whether it is not an
orchid. The leaves are light green, especially on the under-side,
though darker as the rainy season advances. The fruit is a spherical
drupe, containing several small nuts or seeds. The tree flowers before
the leaves come fully out, so that it looks very handsome indeed. It
is, in fact, one of the prettiest of all the flowering trees. It
flowers at the end of February or at the beginning of March. It
reaches a girth of about 2 feet and a bole length of about 10 feet,
though it is often much branched from about 4 feet from the ground.
It is quite common in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria, especially in
the Olokemeji Reserve and on the road between that place and Mamu, in
the Benin province, as well as being found in the mixed deciduous
forest zone.
The timber is hard and white and fairly durable. It is tough and does
not split well.
Although it stands a little shade it is a somewhat slow-growing,
light-loving tree, but does not protect the soil. Natural regeneration
appears to be fair. It sprouts well from the stump, often in this way
forming quite a clump. On these stool shoots it bears flowers and
fruit early. It transplants badly, more especially when placed in the
open. It is somewhat exacting as to soil, demanding a certain amount
of moisture as well as depth. It is somewhat fire-resisting, sprouting
out again after such injury.
As it does not really reach timber size, it is not of much use for
local constructional purposes.
_Native Use._—The smaller trees are used as walking-sticks and the
larger ones are sometimes used for hoe and axe handles. In clearing
the land for farms, stool shoots are left standing, to act as supports
for the tendrils of the yams after they have been planted.
_Monodora myristica_, var. _grandifolia_. Calabash Nutmeg. Lakoshe or
Abo Lakoshe, Ilakosin, Igbo (Yoruba); Ukposa, Eddo Binoyoba (Benin).
It is found in the mixed deciduous forests of the Ibadan, Ondo, Benin,
Owerri, and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria, where it is somewhat
prevalent.
_Chief Characteristics._—It is a large tree, up to 7 feet in girth,
with open crown and thin foliage. The flowers are very conspicuous
when they fall, having three very large pointed red petals streaked
with white, almost reminiscent of an orchid. The edge of the petal is
wavy, too. On the tree, the flowers hang from the under-side of twigs
with very short petioles. It is the most handsome and largest
flowering tree amongst the Monodoras. It is, however, never quite so
much covered with flowers as the _M. tenuifolia_. The flowers are
considerably larger, being quite half to one inch longer. The bole
reaches a length of about 15 feet, but is often branched lower down.
The fruit is a large drupe, containing a number of small nuts.
The timber is whitish, hard and somewhat tough, and does not split
well.
It is a moderately fast-growing, light-demanding tree. With the
exception of the period when it loses leaves, it is a soil-protecting
and soil-improving tree.
Although it scarcely reaches timber size, it might be tried for
smaller constructional purposes, such as handles, posts, or rails. The
quantities, however, are not very large.
_Native Use._—The nut is ground up and used in soup.
_Monodora brevipes_. Yellow-flowering Nutmeg. Ause, Lakosin (Yoruba);
Iyoha (Benin).
Grows abundantly throughout the Tropics. The seeds are useful as
condiments or as medicine.
=Myristicaceæ sp.=
_Pycnanthus Kombo_. White Cedar. Akomu (Yoruba); Omocham (Benin).
It is found in the Calabar, Ogoja, Owerri, Benin, Ondo and Abeokuta
provinces of Nigeria.
It is a very common tree, especially at the edges of roads and in old
farms. It is not so common in the original forest. It grows up to 15
feet in girth. It has a very cylindrical bole, with long, straight,
outstanding branches growing close together, more or less forming a
flat crown. The leaves are large and pinnate, and the small fruit,
which grows in clusters, half opens, disclosing a bright red interior
with one round seed covered with pink, mace-like fibre. The slash is
pinkish-white, and heavy, sticky white latex streaked with red exudes
very freely after it has been cut.
The timber is soft and white and not durable. It has not so far been
used either for export or locally.
=Lauraceæ.=
_Ocotea_ cf. Egg-shaped fruit tree. Agkwokhau (Benin).
Found in the Benin province.
=Capparidaceæ.=
_Cratæva Adansonii_ (Guill. et Perr.). Egun oran (Yoruba).
Tree 30 feet high with yellow flowers. Found growing at Fiditi, Oyo
province.
_Capparis Thonningii_. Ekkana, Awoa (Yoruba).
It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve of the Abeokuta province of
Nigeria.
=Rosaceæ.=
_Parinarium sp._ Babu (Yoruba); Oria (Benin); Oko (Ibo, Owerri); Oguru
(Brass); Edat (Efik); Ukpoi, Edat, Mpuri (Oban, Ekoi).
It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve of the Abeokuta province of
Nigeria, and Asaba district, Benin province.
It is a large tree with irregular surface to the bole, muscular-like
protrusions being seen here and there, as well as similar shaped
depressions. The crown is wide and flattish, and of light foliage. The
fruit is a large, nasty-smelling, apple-shaped drupe.
The timber is white, with apparently little difference between sap and
heart wood, and it is hard and tough, not splitting at all easily.
It is a somewhat slow-growing, shade-bearing, soil-protecting and
soil-improving tree, said to be termite-proof. It has considerable
resiliency, and stands a certain amount of bending strain.
The timber has not been used for export, nor has it been sawn up for
planks for local use.
_Native Use._—The Yorubas use the timber for making mortars for food.
_Parinarium sp._ Red Mahogany. Abue (Egbado, Yoruba); Dabadogun
(Benin).
It is plentiful in the Benin and the Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.
_Chief Characteristics._—It grows into a large tree, but is often seen
as a small tree, suppressed by other quicker-growing trees. The dense,
somewhat spreading crown is a typical feature of the tree. Its large
leaves attract attention, especially compared to the size of the tree.
The bole is often crooked and covered with dark green cortex, with
only a limited amount of fine bark.
It has a hard, red wood, not unlike mahogany, but with a more fibrous
grain. It is durable, especially when left in a wet place. It works up
with a good surface and very pleasing colour, making it thoroughly
worthy of being a substitute for mahogany. Being a shade-bearer, soil-
protecting and soil-improving tree, it should eventually find a place
in the forest plantations. Despite its slow growth, its other
silvicultural qualities are worthy of attention.
It has not yet been exported, not has it been felled for local use.
For the former it appears to deserve a trial.
_Native Use._—It is used for firewood.
_Parinarium robustum_. Sometimes called Mahogany Nuts, Nikko Nuts;
Benin Mahogany. Ugibisaro (Benin); Aiyeni (Egbado); Aiye, Aghaghe,
Aiyeni (Yoruba).
It is found in the Abeokuta and Benin provinces of Nigeria, in the
evergreen forest zone, where it is not very prevalent. It is a large
forest tree, reaching a girth of over 12 feet and a bole length of
about 70 feet. In the dry season, in the distance, the leaves show the
typical dried-up yellow appearance of the Parinariums, especially
being somewhat shiny in appearance. The fruit is not unlike a very
large, very dark green plum, but rather more flattened and not so
round. The inside nut is compressedly spherical, showing five large
eyes or holes out of which seeds germinate.
The sapwood is yellowish-white and somewhat broad in proportion to the
size of the tree, and the hard wood is mahogany-red coloured, but with
more fibrous grain. It planes up with a smooth surface and splits
fairly easily, especially when nailed. It is moderately hard and quite
durable, and is not supposed to be attacked by white ants (termites).
Like most of the Parinariums, the fresh wood smells something like
honey, and the timber tends to darken on exposure to the air, thus
improving in colour.
On the whole it is a shade-bearing tree and not very fast-growing. It
has soil-protecting and soil-improving qualities. Natural regeneration
only appears to be very moderate. Like most of the Parinariums, the
kernels of the fruit are pecked out by various birds. No plantations
have been made of this tree.
Quite by accident, in 1906 some logs obtained from this tree were cut
and exported, and sold in the Liverpool market as Benin mahogany at
4d. per superficial foot. Since then, however, none has been cut.
Amongst the Benin natives the timber is occasionally used for house-
building.
_Parinarium excelsum_. Essago (Benin).
It is found in the Ondo, Benin, Owerri and Calabar provinces of
Nigeria, in the evergreen forest zone, where in certain localities it
is very prevalent.
In appearance it is like the rough-skin plum of Sierra Leone, but a
larger and taller tree. The leaf usually looks dry and grey,
especially underneath. The crown is oval and very dense, with a mass
of large limbs. The bark is covered with white lenticels, which make
it look grey. It usually bears a large crop of fruit each year.
It reaches a girth of over 12 feet and a bole length of about 50. In
proportion to the height, the bole is not so long as in the cases of
many other forest trees. The fruit is more uneven in surface than that
of _P. robustum_, and the surface is also more or less speckled with
little white raised lumps, giving it a roughness to the touch. The
fruit inside is yellowish-white, rather hard and not unpleasant to
taste. Where it is found, especially in the more swampy parts, it is
often almost gregarious in habit. It is an evergreen tree.
The wood when freshly cut smells like honey. The sapwood is yellowish-
white and the heartwood is brown. On the whole it is much harder than
_P. robustum_. Occasionally it appears cross-grained, and does not
plane up with such a smooth finish. It saws less easily, and it is
hard to drive nails into it. It does not split well. It is rather a
heavy wood and does not float.
It is a somewhat slow-growing, shade-bearing tree, which thoroughly
protects the soil and improves it with its leaf fall. Natural
regeneration appears to be none too good. No plantations have been
made of this tree.
It has not been felled for local use, but occasionally it has been
used for firewood, which is of somewhat high calorific power. The
fruit is occasionally useful to temporarily assuage hunger in the
forest.
It was sold as African greenheart at 1s. 6d. to 1s. 9d. a cubic foot
in the Liverpool market in 1906.
_Native Use._—None, and the fruit is not eaten. Elephants eat the
fruit.
_Parinarium polyandrum_ (Benth.) (?). Plum. Ako Idofun (Yoruba).
Smaller fruit than _P. curatellæfolium_ and very hard; similar
flowers, the leaves rough and only slightly grey-green on the under-
surface. Stem reddish-brown with long lenticels, leaves larger and
longer.
It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria.
_Native Use._—The tree is used by the natives for building farmhouses.
_Parinarium curatellæfolium_ (Planch.). Abo-Idofun (Yoruba).
A small tree 10 feet in height and 1 foot in diameter, with large
umbelliferous flowers of a white colour. The leaves are rough and
shiny on the upper surface, and with more white underneath than the
_P. polyandrum_.
_Native Use._—The fruit is edible, though not usually eaten. No use as
firewood. The wood is used for building farm-sheds.
_Parinarium Gabunense_. Mahogany Nut. Abere (Yoruba).
Found in the Ondo province.
_Chrysobalanus sp._ Niko Nut. Igata (Yoruba).
Found at Ebuttemetta.
=Leguminosæ (Cæsalpineæ).=
_Cassia Sieberiana_. Cassia. Aridan-toro (Yoruba); Ezzi, Apagban
(Benin).
It is commonly found in Benin, Ibadan and Abeokuta provinces of
Nigeria, more especially in the latter. It is a small tree bearing
large and long racemes of yellow flowers in February, making it very
reminiscent of the laburnum. The tree is leafless at the time, so that
the flowers are all the more conspicuous. The almost rectangular
branching habit of this tree, combined with the rather thin twigs, is
very typical. It yields a hard, red wood, but the sapwood is
yellowish-white. The natives use the fruit medicinally and the timber
for house-building. The pods are usually about a foot long and half an
inch in diameter.
_Cassia tora_. Cassia. Ako Kere (Yoruba).
It is found at Olokemeji, in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. Its
medicinal use as a remedy for ringworm is not known to the natives of
that locality.
_Cassia fistula_. Cassia. Bembedo (Yoruba).
It is rather an uncommon tree of the Benin province of Nigeria, one
specimen being found in the Idah district; the longer (1 to 2 feet)
and stouter (¾ to 1 inch) pod is most typical of this tree. It is
otherwise much the same size as _Cassia Sieberiana_. The natives use
the fruit medicinally, but look upon the tree as a “great medicine.”
_Cassia podocarpa_ (G. and P.). Cassia. Asunwon (Yoruba).
It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve.
Shrub with yellow flowers.
_Cassia occidentalis_. Blackwater Plant. Rere (Yoruba).
It is a small shrub-like herb with large upright flowers, which is
usually found growing in waste places at the edge of villages in the
Yoruba country, in the mixed deciduous forest zone. A medicine to cure
blackwater fever is made from this plant, though doctors now say it is
not an infallible cure.
_Ormosia laxiflora_ (Benth.). False Dalbergia. Shedun (Yoruba).
It is found in the Ibadan, Abeokuta, Onitsha and Ogoja provinces of
Nigeria, chiefly at the edge of the dry-zone forest.
It is a small tree, 12 feet high and 18 inches in girth, with almost
brick-red or orange-coloured bark, which is thin and often scarred by
natives. It has a long, thin pod with thin, flat seeds. It reminds one
very much of a small Dalbergia. It stands the annual fires well,
though it gets singed each year. The base of the bole is often
somewhat enlarged with the constant cutting of the bark both of the
stem and the uppermost roots.
The timber is yellowish-red and not very hard, but rough to work up,
being more in the nature of a turner’s than a joiner’s wood. The grain
is often by no means straight, and the wood shows a little figure.
Withstanding the fires so well, it serves, or should serve, as a nurse
for the introduction of more valuable species amongst the dry-zone
trees, especially on the laterite soils. Natural regeneration is good
and it sprouts well from the stump. Root suckers do not appear to be
so prevalent as in many dry-zone species. It is a light-loving
species, which does not protect the soil properly, though the foliage
is comparatively dense for that type of tree. It is slow-growing. No
plantations have been made.
It does not attain sufficient size for export, but it might be tried
for local turnery work. It is useful for local hut-building.
_Native Use._—House-building, and the roots when boiled are used in
medicine as a tonic.
_Afrormosia elata_. African Satinwood, Yellow Satinwood. Ayin (Yoruba);
Anyeran, Anyesan, Ehranobapotineddo (Benin); Egbi (Ibadan); Elo Uta
(Ibo, Owerri).
A very conspicuous tree, with its orange-red trunk near the base,
gradually shading off to yellow higher up, and towards the branches a
light-green colour. Large, irregular-shaped pieces of bark fall off
from time to time, in a similar way to the plane-tree of Europe,
though with its reddish trunk it is not so much like the plane as
_Afzelia Africana_. The root flanges or spurns are very thin and do
not extend beyond about three feet up the stem of the tree. In plate
No. 82 one of these trees, growing near Benin, shows the open, rather
narrow crown with its few main limbs supporting it.
It is commonest in the Benin, but also found in the Ondo, Owerri and
Calabar provinces in the moist evergreen forests. It is also seen in
secondary forests of the same zone.
The timber planes well, but does not split. It saws easily, but takes
nails with difficulty. It is sometimes figured, especially logs from
the base of the tree.
It is pretty easily killed by fire at the roots, though otherwise it
tends to spread with cultivation. The sapwood is almost white and the
heartwood a yellowish-green, when fresh, but a dull yellow when dry.
It is very hard and withstands the attacks of white ants (termites).
Even the sapwood of a young tree had not rotted after six years near
the bank of the Ogba, Benin province. It grows moderately quickly.
The flower is inconspicuous and small, and the pod is also small,
being about 2½ inches long and ½ inch broad, containing two or three
flat seeds. The tree does not bear very heavily, and in consequence
natural regeneration is not very good, though such seeds as actually
form properly seem to germinate well. In youth it bears some shade,
but in middle age seems to be almost a light-demander.
Although when freshly cut the wood does not float, when thoroughly dry
it would not be difficult to float it with a lighter species.
The timber was reported as satinwood and worth 3d. to 1s. per
superficial foot in the Liverpool market in 1906, and that moderate
quantities (of fair length and squares) would be taken.
_Pterocarpus esculentus_ (Schum. and Thon.). Edible-fruited Padouk.
Gbingbindo (Yoruba); Akpanagya, Uruhe (Benin); Nja (Efik).
It is one of the most common waterside trees of all the Southern
Provinces of Nigeria; some of the rivers on the banks of which it is
found are the Ovia, Ogun and Cross River. Belonging to the mixed
deciduous forest zone, it is in the middle reaches of these rivers
where it is most prevalent.
A typical feature of this small tree is the bright, yellow-coloured
flower, which quite brightens up the banks of the rivers at the end of
February or March. Another most peculiar feature is the odd, somewhat
kidney-shaped fruit with its rough surface corrugations, containing
inside a hardish nut about 1 inch in diameter. Either the nuts or the
fruit are often seen floating down the rivers, especially where they
are tidal. The leaves are more typical of the Pterocarps, otherwise
the fruit is most unlike either those of the genus or even of the
family. The bole of the tree is short, smooth and almost silver-grey
in colour, though it is often discoloured with the mud from the
perennial floods of the river. It is usually seen with more than one
stem.
The timber is white and not over-hard. It is not very durable.
The tree is not very fast-growing, but is an evergreen, with a short
period in which nearly all the leaves fall. It serves a most useful
purpose in holding the banks of the streams wherever it is found, and
it is noticeable that its roots appear to extend a long way back and
that it is one of the last trees to be washed out by floods. It
sprouts fairly well from the stump when cut, unless it is almost at
once submerged by the floods, which points to the fact that it should
be cut only at the beginning or towards the end of the dry season.
Natural regeneration appears to be fair, but no plantations have been
tried with this tree.
The nuts have not been examined to see what they contain, though they
are of nutritive value.
For export it does not yield large timber, and for local use it is
rather small, but for local huts it might occasionally be used where
other timber is scarce, as in the dry zone. It makes a fair firewood
in those places. Although the fruit is supposed to be edible, very few
natives have tried it, and apparently it is only used in times of
great scarcity.
[Illustration: FIG. 59.—=Large Ayin (Anogeissus leiocarpus), 10 feet in
girth, Dajopa, Olokemeji Forest Reserve.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 60.—=Oil Palm in bearing, two bunches of fruit in
view, Olokemeji Forest Reserve.=]
To face p. 272.
_Pterocarpus Osun_. African Padouk or Barwood. Osun, Osun dudu
(Yoruba); Ume, Ureben (Benin); Opepe (Ikala, Ijor).
It is found in the Ogoja and Calabar provinces of Nigeria, in the
mixed deciduous forest zone, where it is none too prevalent. A
specimen was found near Ibami, in the Obubra district. It is a small
tree with small yellow flowers and rather small leaves. The branches
are placed close together and the crown is very dark and thick. The
bole is short, rarely exceeding 15 feet in length, and the bark a dark
brown colour. The bole reaches a girth of about 5 feet.
The sapwood is white and the heartwood of a dull-red colour, but in
proportion the sapwood is rather wide. It is moderately hard, fairly
durable, but not termite-proof. It planes well, saws easily, takes
nails; it does not split very well.
It is a somewhat slow-growing, shade-bearing, soil-protecting and
soil-improving tree. Natural regeneration does not appear to be very
good. It is doubtful if it sprouts from the stump. It has not been cut
for export, nor has it been felled for local use.
On the Cross River the Camwood was sold to the European merchants, at
the rate of 409 billets per ton, for £4 10s., so that with the added
cost of river and ocean freight and sale charges, there was no profit
when it was being sold at £6 10s. per ton in the Liverpool market.
Better prices are always secured if it is shipped in squared logs, 24
inches square and 24 to 30 feet in length.
Apparently it is not the Camwood used by the natives, because plenty
of trees are seen scattered about in the neighbourhood of Obubra
untouched.
_Pterocarpus erinaceus_. African Rosewood. Apepe, Ara (Yoruba); Oyo,
Upeka (Benin).
This tree grows in the dry-zone savannah forests of the Ogoja province
of Nigeria. It is of small size; the flowers, which are yellow, appear
in March. The timber is of little value, the tree not being large
enough to yield a useful timber, but it has been sold as African
Rosewood. It has a beautiful rose-red colour.
_Pterocarpus sp._ So-called Camwood. Osun pupa (Yoruba); Akume (Benin);
also spineless fruited Camwood.
It is found in the Calabar, Ogoja, Benin and Ondo provinces of
Nigeria. On the bank of the Cross River, near the Ossizza factory,
there is a large specimen, standing about 20 feet away from the
water’s edge.
It is not very common, and chiefly found near river banks in the
evergreen forest towards their northern limit. It is a medium-sized
tree, reaching a girth of 9 feet at the most and a height of 70 feet.
The bole length does not exceed 40 feet. The bark is light-brown,
almost yellow-brown, with rough fissures and fibrous surface, more
like an elm, though thinner. The branches are thin and light-coloured.
In flower the tree is a mass of little yellow peaflowers, and numerous
bees swarm round the crown of the tree, indicating its presence.
Again, when the fruit ripens the crown is a mass of yellow-brown
winged fruits all fluttering in the wind. They are always in bunches
near the ends of the twigs. The fruit is round and flat, with no hairs
on it, with a thin papery wing completely surrounding and joined to
it, which makes it rather thicker and stiffer than the other species.
It is not at all typical of the Pterocarpus genus. The seed in the
centre has a rough surface. The trunk usually is not quite straight,
having a slight bend or two in its length. In habit, more like a
Combretum or young elm to look at. The crown is round, almost
spherical, and does not usually occupy more than one-third of the
height of the tree.
The sapwood is white; the heartwood is of a dull purply colour, which
is inclined to stain into the sapwood after the tree is cut down and
exposed to rain. On the whole the colour of the wood is deeper than
that of the other Pterocarpus, but it is said to yield a less fast and
poorer coloured red dye than that of the other species, _P. Osun_. It
is moderately hard. It planes well, and is sometimes cross-grained. It
takes nails easily, but does not split very well, though it saws with
comparative ease.
Although it stands a good deal of shade in its youth, it is apparently
a light-demanding tree with soil-protecting and soil-improving
qualities. It is not very fast-growing. Natural regeneration appears
to be poor, chiefly, perhaps, owing to the fact that the seeds are
quickly eaten by small boring insects soon after they fall to the
ground. It is rather exacting as to soil, and prefers the deep, moist,
sandy loam. Only isolated specimens are seen.
The timber has not been exported yet, and despite the fact that it
does not reach such a large size as _P. Osun_, it deserves a trial.
For local use it should find a place for house construction in a
similar position to which the Osun and others are used by the natives.
It has not been cut or used as a dye root, chiefly owing to its poorer
colour. It is, however, used in house-building.
_Pterocarpus_. Cross River Camwood.
It is found in the Obubra district of the Calabar province of Nigeria.
In habit it is very similar to the other Camwoods.
_Pterocarpus Soyauxii_. Large Fruited Camwood. Arakpa, Ume (Benin);
Ukpa (Efik).
It is found in the Ogoja, Benin, Warri (?), Ondo, Ibadan (?) and
Abeokuta (?) provinces of Nigeria.
It is a common tree in the mixed deciduous forests, reaching a height
of 80 to 100 feet, with a bole length of 50 feet and a girth of 10
feet. The bark is a darker colour than _P. Osun_, but a little
rougher. The leaf is smaller than _P. Osun_, but is unarmed. The most
typical difference in this tree is the fruit, which is the largest of
all, 2½ to 3 inches in diameter, with plenty of prickly thorns in the
centre of each surface. The wood is a much darker red, quite a dull,
almost purple red. The root spurns on the whole extend higher up the
trunk than _P. Osun_ (up to 4 feet). The slash is white, but thin red
latex soon exudes out of it.
The wood is hardish, but the sapwood is very white and soft. The wood
does not make the same kind of stain as _P. Osun_, though apparently
it keeps its colour much better than _P. Osun_. When exposed to light,
_P. Osun_ loses it very quickly and becomes a dull-brown colour. The
grain is open and varies a little in colour, giving it a pleasing
effect. Termites do not attack it. It splits well.
It sprouts from the stump slightly, but such shoots do not attain any
size. Seedlings come up readily from fallen seeds. The seeds are
liable to be eaten by the “ground pig” almost at once. It grows
moderately quickly, but is a light-lover. It has an undivided stem.
Samples were sent to Liverpool in 1916 and sold as African Padauk, and
it was reported that “small quantities sell” satisfactorily. It has
been cut for local use for buildings.
_Native Use._—It is used for making wooden shovels, all out of one
piece. Also in house-building as wall-plates at the top of the mud
walls, also in the Oba’s house for uprights.
_Erythrophlœum sp._ Sasswood. Inyi (Benin).
This tree was determined from material from the Central Circle.
_Erythrophlœum Guineense_. Sasswood, or Sassy Bark, or Ordeal Bark.
Erun obo (Yoruba); Oginyi (Benin); Akpa Etuidiwi (Efik); Arachi (Ibo,
Asaba); Inyi, Ibo (Onitsha, Ibo, Owerri).
It is found in the Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ondo, Benin, Onitsha and Ogoja
provinces of Nigeria in the mixed deciduous forest zone, where it is
often very prevalent, more especially north of Ifon and Alabeta in the
Benin province.
It is a large tree, reaching a girth of over 10 feet and a bole length
of over 30 feet. The crown, however, is large and wide-spreading, but
generally spherical in shape. Comparatively low down, the bole divides
up into three or four main limbs. The trunk is seldom very straight,
usually having a twist in one direction or another. The root spurns
are moderately large, but are rounded in shape. The bark is dark-brown
and thick, scaling off to a slight extent in old age. The fruit is a
pod about 3 inches long and an inch wide, containing six or eight
flattish black beans, black to brown. These burst when ripe, but the
seeds only gradually fall to the ground. The fine pinnate leaves are
close together and open out into dense foliage most typical of the
Leguminoseæ. The upper part of the limbs and trunk is light-brown. The
flowers are minute and not often seen.
The sapwood is dull yellow and the heartwood a dull red-brown. It is
very heavy and hard, but not as hard as red ironwood or the Yoruba
ironwood. It is very durable and quite termite-proof; although
sometimes a little cross-grained, with good tools it can be worked up
to a smooth finish by planing. Holes have to be made in it for nails.
It saws well, but splits only moderately easily. In the saw mill it
was found that the hardness of the wood blunted the saws, which needed
constantly sharpening.
It is a slow-growing, shade-bearing, soil-protecting, soil-improving
tree. Natural regeneration appears to be good, and it is moderately
resistant to fire. Tends to condense dew in the dry season. It
suppresses most other trees by shade. Amongst the dry-zone vegetation
it clings to the banks of rivers, and is common on the upper banks of
the upper reaches of the Ogun. No plantations have been made with this
tree.
In 1906 sample logs of the sister tree, _E. micranthum_, were exported
and sold in the Liverpool market as a species of oak, so that this
timber deserves a trial as a substitute for teak or oak.
It was cut for the Public Works Department at Onitsha and found very
suitable for decking of bridges. The small bridge over the Nkissi,
near Onitsha, was built entirely with this timber.
_Erythrophlœum micranthum_. Sasswood or Ordeal Bark. Ovinni (Benin);
Erinji (Ijor); Ihi (Ibo, Owerri).
It is found in the Warri, Benin and Calabar provinces of Nigeria.
As a small tree, one of the first to appear when the mangrove swamp
gives way to the evergreen rain forest near the coast. On solid land
it attains a large size, even larger than that of _E. Guineense_. The
pod is a little larger than that of _E. Guineense_, and the bark
smoother. The crown is dense and very large, almost spherical in
shape, and reaching more than one-third down the length of the tree.
The timber is very similar in its qualities to _E. Guineense_, but has
a straighter grain in the larger specimens. It is very durable.
It is a slow-growing, shade-bearing tree, with soil-protecting and
soil-improving qualities. Natural regeneration does not appear to be
very good, though numerous pods are borne on the tree almost every
year. No plantations have yet been made with it.
For local use, it has not been cut in a similar way to _E. Guineense_.
The natives occasionally use this tree for making canoes. In the 1906
timber report from the Liverpool market it was valued as a species of
oak at 1s. 9d. per cubic foot, and was not considered so good as
either red oak, _Lophira procera_, or white oak, _Ostryoderris
impressa_.
_Native Use._—The bark is boiled in water and a beautiful red-coloured
liquid is produced. It is administered as an ordeal trial for
witchcraft, and is not poisonous if given in large doses.
_Brachystegia spicæformis_. Agberigeddi, Ako (Yoruba); Okkwan (Benin);
Etare (Oban, Ekoi); Ungu (Ibo, Owerri); Mpanju, Akpanya, Ikpanya
(Efik).
This tree is found in the Abeokuta, Ibadan (?), Ondo, Benin, Warri,
Owerri, Calabar and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria.
It is a rough, scaly-barked tree of huge size (see illustration),
reaching a girth of 30 feet and a height of 150 feet. The crown is
flattish, formed by a few wide-spreading limbs and numerous small
branches. The foliage is moderate for a Leguminous tree. The yellowish
flowers are almost unseen, being placed underneath the leaves. The
dark-brown woody pods burst with a bang not unlike a gunshot, and
release four or five flat black, shiny beans about ½ inch across. The
foliage goes almost black on reaching the ground, killing all the
small plants. A brownish gum exudes from the tree when cut, and this
hardens into a reddish, opaque mass similar to Almeidina, and in fact
is the source of this gutta percha-like substance.
_Timber._—It is a rather hard, light-brown wood with pretty, almost
evenly distributed streaks of darker brown shade in it. It is very
durable. The white sapwood soon rots on exposure to the weather. It is
suitable as a furniture wood.
_Silvicultural Characteristics._—It bears a good deal of shade. It
reproduces almost every year plentiful mature seed; grows fast, but
not so rapidly as the cotton-tree, Ricinodendron and others. It is
sometimes distinctly gregarious, as, for instance, south-west of Benin
City.
_European Use._—It has not been exported, but the P.W.D. have used it
for verandah-posts and planks. It has been much admired for the good
colour of the wood and the streaky grain.
_Native Use._—By the Benin people it is not considered a good wood,
but the gum is sometimes used.
_Daniellia ogea_. Gum Copal. Ogea (Yoruba); Ogea (Benin); Udeni (Ibo,
Owerri); Mpanju, Ikpanya, Akpanya (Efik). Also known as _D. oblonga_
and _Cyanothyrsus ogea_, but now called _D. ogea_.
This tree is found growing in the heavy-rain intermediary forest of
Benin, Ondo country and Mamu Reserve. It is a very fine tree with
straight rounded bole, often reaching a height of 120 feet before the
first branch. The bark is light grey and slightly ringed. The flowers
blue and not very noticeable.
_Timber._—Of no commercial value, as it is soft and rots quickly.
_Uses._—A good gum copal is obtained from it, the best in the ground,
after the tree has rotted. It is used for varnish making; worth 30s.
to 60s. a hundredweight.
_Daniellia Fosteri_. Gum Copal. Oguja or Ogea (Yoruba).
Found near Olokemeji and Ijebu-Ode. It yields a third-quality resin
according to Holland in _The Useful Plants of Nigeria_.
_Daniellia Punchii_ (Kew). Gum Copal. Ajia (Yoruba).
_Daniellia caudata_. Benin Gum Copal. Mogbara, Ashuwole (Yoruba); Ogea
(Benin); Agbara (Ikale.)
It is found in the Ondo, Benin and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. The
bole is the straightest and most cylindrical of any of the African
forest trees. It often attains a height of over 100 feet before the
first branches are reached. The cylindrical shape is further enhanced
by the few quite concentric rings on the bark, horizontally arranged
round the trunk of the tree. The bark is otherwise quite smooth and of
a silvery-green or light-green colour; for the size of the tree it is
very thin, and the tree may reach a girth of 25 feet, and the bark
then is usually only ½ to ¾ inch thick. The slash is yellowish-white;
the sapwood is white and scarcely distinguishable from the heartwood,
which gradually takes a pinkish tinge when it is dry. The flowers are
blue and not unlike those of the fuchsia, and the tree is easily seen
at the end of the dry season by the bare crown with its blue flowers.
The path later on is covered with these. There are practically no root
spurns, the stem emerging straight away from the ground. The crown is
very flat, and does not usually occupy more than one-fifth of the
total height of the tree. The branches are few and of slight and
almost feathery build. The timber is soft, not durable nor termite-
proof. It saws easily, does not split very well, and considering its
softness it does not plane at all well nor with a very smooth surface.
Natural reproduction by seed appears to be poor, although plenty of
seeds seem to ripen; there is one seed in each pod. It is a light-
loving, deciduous tree, but for eleven months of the year it is
certainly a soil-protecting and soil-improving tree. It demands a
deep, moist and somewhat rich soil, though judging by the various
localities in which it is found it is doubtful if it is really
exacting as to soil.
In 1906 sample logs of this timber were sent to the Liverpool market
and considered to be a species of mahogany, but of no value. Natives
have not used it to any extent for local purposes.
_Piptadenia Africana_. Light African Greenheart. Agboin (Yoruba); Sanga
(New Calabar); Iteruku (Efik); Ebbome (Oban, Ekoi); Ekhimi (Benin).
This is a common tree in the Abeokuta, Ondo, Benin, Warri, Owerri,
Onitsha, Calabar and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. It is one of the most
prevalent trees in the evergreen forests, but is also found in the
mixed deciduous forests, especially, in both cases, near the edges of
the waterways. It is a very large tree, attaining a height of over 120
feet and a girth of over 12 feet. The bole is often 80 or 90 feet in
length and perfectly straight. The crown is thin, ovally flat, but
wide-spreading. The thick, heavily foliaged and drooping appearance at
the ends of the branches makes the tree a most handsome ornament to a
station. At the root, flanges are comparatively long and
widespreading, reaching often over 6 feet up the stem, having root
spurns quite 12 or 15 feet away from the tree. The stem divides up
into a few large branches which form the crown; the bark is yellow-
brown and smooth, but when the tree is growing in the sunlight it
becomes a much lighter colour and sometimes almost grey. The slash is
yellow, with a light-brown tinge; the flowers are quite inconspicuous
when they appear in January or February, being formed of little narrow
spikes. One of the most conspicuous features of this tree is the thin,
flat pod, which may grow as much as 1 foot long and nearly 1 inch
broad. Six to eight seeds are contained in each pod, and these,
including the wing, are 2 inches in length. The flat seed, which is
found in the centre, is brown and shiny, and is only about one-
sixteenth to one-eighth of an inch in thickness. It has a tiny string-
like attachment to the centre, which distinguishes it from Newtonia on
the one hand and Cylicodiscus on the other. The young green foliage is
also most distinctive and attractive in its freshly salmon-pink
colour, also the greenish tips of the older leaves. The leaves
themselves are bipinnate; there are often twenty to twenty-four pairs
of pinnæ, each of which is about half an inch long.
The sapwood is white and comparatively wide; the heartwood is a pretty
light-brown colour, a little darker when fresh, but still retaining a
good light-brown colour when it is dry. Although at first rather heavy
and hard, it seasons as a comparatively light and scarcely hard wood;
it planes well and saws fairly easily; takes nails moderately well,
but does not split at all easily, especially when fresh; has an open
grain and the pores are comparatively long. It is a durable wood and
is almost termite-proof, especially when it is quite dry. When
moderately dry the logs float in water. It weighs 53 pounds per cubic
foot.
It is a light-loving species which does not protect or improve the
soil, except in so far as it is a leguminous tree and its roots thus
improve the ground. It is a moderately rapidly growing tree which
stands a little shade in its youth. Natural regeneration appears to be
only moderate. It sprouts well from the stump, and stump shoots appear
to be very persistent. It is rather sensitive to fire and is easily
killed by placing rubbish near its roots and then burning the heap. No
plantations have yet been formed for this tree. In the forest the
seeds fall to the ground and are soon eaten by a small boring insect.
It likes a comparatively good soil, but is found on sandy soil which
has great moisture; it does not like flooding, but will stand a
little.
Locally, it is occasionally used as a house-building timber. The bark
is occasionally chipped off for use medicinally. Europeans have cut it
up and used it as verandah-posts, joists and verandah handrails.
However, in an unseasoned state the sapwood was attacked by termites,
and thus it was not entirely satisfactory. The heartwood when quite
dry does not warp and appears to be very durable.
In 1906 sample logs of this timber were sold in the Liverpool market
as “Greenheart” at 2s. 9d. per cubic foot. Since that date no regular
supplies have been sent to the market, so that it has not been
thoroughly tested as to its value as an export timber.
_Isoberlinia Doka_ (Kew).
It is found in the Ogoja, Abeokuta and Owerri provinces of Nigeria.