rings, minute single pores scattered in between the fine waved rays
which reach from the centre to the edge of the wood and show as small
dark bands in radial section. In vertical section the grain shows as
slight variations in colour. It is soft and easy to saw and plane.
Weight 40 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are oval, some 6 inches long and 3 inches broad,
bluish-green, with a short stalk, the lateral nerves inclined well
forward and the small connecting veins parallel, numerous and at right
angles to the mid-rib. The leaves stand erect and are apt to fold up
along the mid-rib. When crushed they are fragrant.
=The Flowers= appear from January to April, single or in pairs, ¾ inch
long, pale yellow and waxy. Each has three small green sepals and six
petals in two rows, the outer three large, with broad flat edges which
meet tight together in bud, the inner three smaller, thick and pale
yellow, their tips meeting over a mass of stamens round the ovary and
stigmas. The flowers do not open wide and last for a long time.
=The Fruits= are rounded, 2-3 inches long, composed of fleshy carpels
each containing a seed, green at first with a resemblance to cones,
ripening to a rich orange colour. They are pleasant but unsatisfactory
eating owing to the large number of seeds embedded in the juicy flesh.
Birds are very partial to them, hollowing them out before they ripen.
=Uses.=—The fruit is eaten fresh.
[Illustration]
=BALANITES AEGYPTIACA= Del.—_Aduwa_. “_Desert Date_.” SIMARUBACEAE.
In the north this is one of the commonest trees on loose sand or
barren, stony wastes, where it is often the only species to survive
the extreme conditions. It averages 15-20 feet high, but 30 feet is
not uncommon, with a girth of 4-5 feet. The long green thorns and
small dark leaves distinguish it. The form is roughly spherical, with
a tangled mass of long thorny twigs, whose ends droop or protrude here
and there some feet from the main thicket. It extends northwards to the
limits of tree growth, affording fodder for camels and goats.
=The Bark= is grey, with long, wide, deep, vertical fissures in which
the yellow of the new bark can be seen. The scales are long, thick,
prominent and ragged. The branch bark is distinctive. Dark green and
smooth, the cream-coloured lenticels of various lengths cover it ever
more thickly from the tip downwards till the green colour is completely
obscured and the grey of the branch bark is reached. The slash is pale
yellow.
=The Thorns= are modified shoots borne spirally round the long slender
twigs in the leaf axils, 2-3 inches long, tapering evenly to a strong,
sharp point. They incline slightly forward and barely curve. They are
dark green and persist on the branches.
=The Wood= is light yellow with sometimes greyish discolorations. In
transverse section the rings are distinct in wavy light lines; the
pores are small, open and in little groups in concentric rings and the
rays are clearly visible as light lines of various overlapping lengths.
In radial section the rays add a figure to the wood in lines up to an
inch long. In vertical section the wood is of even colour and texture,
close grained and sound. It is easy to carpenter and planes smoothly
without picking up. Weight 48-50 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves=, with the thorns in their axils, are really paired
leaflets on a short, common stalk; 1½-2 inches long, over 1 inch wide,
a very dull, dark green, they are unequal lobed, as illustrated, with
a tendency to close up along the mid-rib. They assume a vertical
position, even when the twig droops, the stalks bending to adjust
themselves to this position.
=The Flowers=, in the leaf axils, are found from November to March, in
spikes up to 3 inches long, often shortened to resemble round clusters.
Each flower is ½ inch across, with five small green sepals, five longer
and darker green petals, ten short yellow stamens and a shining dark
green ovary with short, blunt pistil. The tree sometimes flowers out of
season.
=The Fruits=, which ripen from February onwards, are 1¼ inches long and
about an inch wide on a short stalk. At first green with a wrinkled,
nipple-like tip, they turn yellow on ripening, when they have a thin
hard skin, a light brown, sticky, edible flesh and a large, hard,
pointed stone. There is a space between the flesh and the skin.
=Uses.=—The fruits are edible, particularly appreciated by beasts. The
wood makes excellent axe and hoe handles. Planes have been made of it,
it being similar to beech in quality. The branches are used for hedging
farms.
[Illustration]
=BALSAMODENDRON AFRICANUM= A. Rich.—_Dashi_. BURSERACEAE.
This shrub or small tree is locally plentiful and is found in all
situations, in the driest sandy soils, on the tops of rocks where it
grows stout and stunted in the crevices, and in loamy soils. It is
frequently seen planted as a live hedge from cuttings and forms an
impenetrable barrier after the habit of the Blackthorn. The slender but
rigid twigs shoot out in all directions and with its trifoliate leaves
on the purple twigs, the plant is readily identified. As a small tree,
a form met with on hills or in better soils in the forest, the stem is
short and stout, dividing low down and quickly branching into a light
rounded crown. The height is rarely over 15-20 feet.
=The Bark= of old examples is green and shining, covered with little
papery scales which flake off. That of the branches and twigs is red or
purple. A resinous gum with a pleasant scent exudes from the slash.
=The Thorns= are branches whose tips are modified in the form of
spines, which will bear leaves, and in the dormant season are dotted
with buds.
=The Leaves= are trifoliate, often very small, but when full-grown some
3-3½ inches long, of which one inch is stalk, red above, green beneath.
The middle leaflet is broadest slightly over half-way up, tapering
gradually to the base and more suddenly to the tip, with irregularly
serrated edges. The lateral leaflets are unequal in size, the right
hand one usually considerably larger than the left, both rounded and
serrated in the same manner as the middle leaflet. The surface is shiny
waxy green, very bright when young. The venation is prominent beneath,
the lateral nerves much branched and zig-zag. The leaf is scented.
=The Flowers= appear in October on the leafless tree and are in small
clusters all along the twigs, up to about 10 in a cluster, each on a
minute stalk. The flower is ¼ inch long with a 4-lobed tubular corolla
deep red with green lobes, the petals separate but overlapping and
close together in the tubular portion which is held in the 4-lobed,
cup-shaped calyx. There are 8 stamens, 4 just appearing in the corolla
mouth, 4 shorter, and a pistil wholly below the corolla mouth.
=The Fruits= are small irregularly pear-shaped drupes a little over ¼
inch long, greyish with a purple bloom which is easily rubbed off. They
have a highly resinous flesh and white kernel and ripen in the early
spring. They grow in clusters along the twigs and the crop is often a
heavy one.
=Uses.=—The resin is used as a scent on garments and medicinally, taken
internally.
[Illustration]
=BAUHINIA RETICULATA= DC.—_Kalgo, Kargo_. LEGUMINOSAE.
A medium-sized tree or shrub, in which latter form it occurs over large
areas of country as pure growth, particularly as secondary growth
in farmed land, where it is a great pest to the farmer who desires
to continue sowings. It grows prolifically from stumps which the
farmer does not trouble to uproot. It is very fond of small, shallow
depressions, where it will grow to the exclusion of all else. In its
proper habitat it will grow over 30 feet high with a girth of 8-10
feet, with short bole and an enormous rounded crown of dense foliage
affording good shade. It is one of the commonest species in the north.
=The Bark= is a dull, dark grey, sometimes with a rust-red tinge,
deeply fissured and ridged with hard, brittle bark of some thickness,
which falls in large, ragged sections. That of young trees can be
ripped off readily after being cut. The slash is bright crimson,
turning brown on exposure, and shows the fibrous nature of the bark.
=The Wood= is oak-brown, rather dirty looking, with light patches and
dark discolorations, especially round flaws. In transverse section the
rings are indistinct but the hard and soft tissue is very well marked,
mostly in concentric lines. The pores are small, evenly distributed,
mostly in festoons joined by the soft tissue. The rays are extremely
fine and closely spaced, invisible to the unaided eye and very faintly
seen in radial section as small bands. The wood is easily sawn but
picks up badly under the plane. It is very strong and tough and weighs
50 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are bifoliate, the depth to which the leaf is divided
varying a great deal and the angle being sharp or rounded. They average
4 inches across but those from stool shoots especially may be very much
larger and generally the larger the tree the smaller the leaves. There
are four main nerves on each leaflet and the mid-rib projects slightly
between them. The leaf stalk is an inch long, with large base. Like all
species of this genus the leaf tends to fold up along the mid-rib. The
colour is lighter beneath and the venation a very intricate network and
prominent. The texture is tough.
=The Flowers= are in spikes, 2-6 inches long and appear in February or
March or even as late as June. Each has a 5-lobed calyx, green-brown
in colour, 5 white petals, wrinkled and overlapping at the edges, 10
stamens of varied length with brown anthers and a short, blunt pistil.
The flowers drop off readily when handled and are about an inch long.
They do not open very wide.
=The Fruits= are pods 6-9 inches long, hard, flat, dark-brown, straight
or contorted into strange shapes, 2 inches broad and ¼-½ inch thick.
They are persistent on the tree for many months, a most disfiguring
feature, and drop entire, rotting on the ground. They are very liable
to attacks from a grub which destroys the seeds. These are small,
brown, oval and scattered about in the mealy endocarp which has an
objectionable smell.
=Uses.=—The wood is used for axe and hoe handles of all sorts. The bark
is used for binding and tying but is not plaited or twisted into ropes.
Cattle eat the pods.
[Illustration]
=BAUHINIA RUFESCENS= Lam.—_Jirga, Tsatsagi, Matsagi_. LEGUMINOSAE.
A small tree, typically inhabiting annually inundated areas but also
flourishing in sandy soils of poor quality. It forms, with its numerous
much branched stems, a small thicket of one or more trees; it is
difficult to say how many under the circumstances, as one root-stock
will produce a number at ground level, forming an impenetrable mass. It
can be distinguished readily by the typical leaves of the genus, and
the small size of these compared with other species. The fact that it
is always in flower and fruit will identify it also.
=The Bark= is a light ash-coloured grey, smooth and covered with small,
brown horizontal lenticels. Old stems bear at the base small dark
scales and the bark is fissured giving it a speckled appearance. The
slash is pink and reveals the very fibrous nature of the bark.
=The Thorns= are modified twigs whose tips are strongly pointed. They
may support leafy shoots or bear leaves themselves and are seen best on
the long, slender shoots and drooping twigs. They extend their growth
indefinitely, but on the older wood may be seen as bare, woody spines 3
or 4 inches long, curved out and down.
=The Wood= is a dull, smoke-brown colour. In transverse section the
rings are indistinct dark lines; the pores are numerous and unevenly
distributed, single in small groups or in short chains, the rays
invisible to the unaided eye but showing as small bands in radial
section, which reflect the light. In vertical section the grain is
close and there are darker bands of colour. The wood is not hard, is
easily sawn and planes to a nice, soft, smooth finish though it picks
up in places with the long soft fibres. The weight is 50 lbs. a cubic
foot.
=The Leaves= are borne spirally round the branches, often in the thorn
axils or on the thorns themselves, or on twigs bare of thorns. They are
bifoliate, typical of the genus, rarely over an inch long and mostly
a ½ inch, the terminal leaf of a new shoot often being much larger.
The mid-rib is extended between the leaflets which are divided to
the base and there are three main nerves to each leaflet. They are a
light, blue-green or grey-green, with a bloom and are partly sensitive,
closing up rapidly after being plucked.
=The Flowers= are white and can be found all the year round, though
the proper flowering season is in the rains or towards the end of
them. They are in small racemes at the twig ends, pendulous amongst
the leaves, ¾ inch long, with a calyx which splits partially into five
parts, remaining attached at the tips and opening beneath, 5 white
petals, spoon-shaped with narrow base and broad, pointed tip, 10 white
stamens with light brown anthers and a tuft of hairs at the base of
each, and a clubbed pistil.
=The Fruits= are pods about 3 inches long, constricted between the
seeds, dull black, slightly curved, containing up to eight shiny, rich
red-brown seeds, roughly rectangular with one rounded corner. The seeds
rattle loose in the pod which falls entire and rots on the ground. The
pods hang in conspicuous clusters and may be seen all the year round.
=Uses.=—The bark is stripped for binding but is not plaited into ropes.
[Illustration]
=BERLINIA AURICULATA= Benth.—_Doka rafi_. LEGUMINOSAE.
This is a medium-sized tree of the best savannah types, commonly found
in “kurmis” and extending as far north as 11°. It occurs plentifully in
Sokoto and Kontagora along the small streams in the south. Averaging
40 feet in height it will reach 60 feet with girths of 8-10 feet. The
crown is high, rounded and very dense in the open; flatter and more
superficial in heavy forest, topping a 30-feet bole, only 10 feet long
in open situations. The flowers and pods are both conspicuous.
=The Bark= is dark-grey or brown, the scales leaving large, concave
scars. The slash is pale brown.
=The Wood.=—The heartwood is red-brown, the sapwood light with a pink
tint. In transverse section the rings are well but unevenly marked red
lines. The pores are large and solitary, for the most part in oblique
rows, and the rays are extremely fine and invisible to the unaided eye.
In vertical section the pores are long and straight and the rings show
as dark bands. It is rather a coarse, stringy wood, sawing roughly
and picking up in long fibres under the plane. Where the grain suits
the plane the finish has a bronze sheen. It is a fairly hard wood and
weighs 50 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are pinnate, 9-12 inches long with an average of four
pairs of pinnae increasing in size from the lower pair upwards, the
lower 2-4 inches long and 1½—2 inches broad, the upper pair 5-7 inches
long and 2-3 inches broad. The mid-rib curves forward, rounding the
outer edge of the leaf. The nerves are alternate long and short. The
similarity of the leaf and fruit to those of _Isoberlinia doka_ gives
it its native name.
=The Flowers= are in close panicled racemes at the branch tips from
March to June. Each flower is 4 inches long over all, being enclosed at
first in a pair of long, pale green, velvety bracteoles which separate
and fall back to release the flower parts. The calyx is a slender tube
divided into five long, narrow pointed, recurved sepals. The corolla
has four small, linear petals and one erect white, wrinkled, cleft
petal 2 inches long and broad, with a green centre splash. There are
ten long, erect, hairy stamens with brown-green anthers, and a long
pistil. The flowers are in such masses as to be conspicuous from a
great distance.
=The Fruit= is a broad, flat, dark brown, velvety pod, 6-10 inches long
and 2-2½ inches broad. It explodes when ripe to release some 3-5 round,
flattened seeds.
[Illustration]
=BOMBAX BUONOPOZENSE= Beauv.—_Kuriya, Gurjiya_. MALVACEAE.
This tree is known as the Red-Flowered Silk Cotton Tree and grows, on
an average, to a height of 40 feet with a girth of about 5 feet. Very
much larger specimens are, however, to be seen, up to 70 feet high
with girths of 15 feet and more. Rounded root-flanges are prominent
on the large trees. The crown is regular and umbrella-shaped, rather
flat-topped, wide-spreading and open with superficial foliage giving
little shade. In old specimens the bole is gnarled and the limbs much
bent, the shape of the crown being often retained by the growth of the
smaller branches. The species is not at all exacting as regards soil
and is, in fact, commonly found on hillsides and amongst rocks where
its roots penetrate the little but good soil. It is more local than
general in its distribution.
=The Bark= of the younger trees is very corky, longitudinally fissured
and horizontally cut into prominently spiked scales. The degree of
roughness is very variable, being generally far more marked, relatively
on younger trees, and, in the older ones, the thorns being confined to
the branches, the bole having prominent layered corky scales with soft
ends. Some quite small trees bear no thorns at all, but this is rare.
The spines are conical, with broad corky bases and sharp black points.
If a piece of the bark be snapped off it shows a light red colour. The
slash is crimson.
=The Wood= is a dirty white colour. In transverse section the pores
are large, widely scattered, single, twin or nests. The rays vary in
width and in spacing very considerably, and are straight, showing
as long, light-reflecting bands in radial, and as brown flecks in
tangential section. In the latter section the pores are brown, open
and wavy. It is a very soft and light wood, easily worked, not strong,
its durability largely dependant on the manner in which it has been
seasoned, with exclusion of damp and consequent mould. It is very
subject to small borer beetles. The weight is only 20 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are truly digitate with generally six lobes, broad at the
tip, narrow at the base, with a prominent point. The entire leaf is 6-7
inches across, with a 5 inch stalk. The venation is prominent on both
surfaces and the colour is pale, the surface smooth.
=The Flowers= are the most conspicuous feature of all and may be found
from November to February. They are red, tulip-like blooms, 3 inches
in diameter, with a dark red 5-lobed calyx, 5 red petals and a mass of
black-anthered stamens filling the corolla and surrounding a 5-part
pistil. They fall in numbers, entire, and are devoured by antelopes.
=The Fruits= are large, pendulous capsules some 4 inches long
and 2 inches wide, black or deep brown when ripe, splitting into
five sections to release small black seeds embedded in a mass of
silk-cotton. The pod shrinks in the ripening and the silk cotton is
packed tight in it and expands in bulk enormously by hygroscopic
action, carrying the seeds a great distance on the wind.
=Uses.=—The wood is used for making large and small drums, native
stools used by women, basins, shoes and saddles and cattle troughs.
The bark is used by women to impart a red colour to the teeth. Certain
pagans make a sauce from the flowers, locally called “Kwungi.”
[Illustration]
=BORASSUS FLABELLIFER= Linn. _var._ =AETHIOPUM= Warb.—_Giginya_.
PALMACEAE.
This very well-known Palm inhabits marshes, the banks of streams and
any well-watered hollow, and will grow, if introduced, on dry sandy
soils. With the exception of the Dum Palm, _Hyphaene Thebaica_, it
is the most northerly of the palms in Nigeria and is found in vast
quantities in “fadamma.” It does not actually grow in the water, though
it will survive an occasional immersion when grown, but occupies
islands, banks and edges of marshy land as well as the banks of
streams, lakes, etc. It reaches a height of over 80 feet, with a girth
at the base of 6 feet, at breast height 4 feet 6 inches, and at the
narrowest point 3 feet. The stem swells at about 30 feet and after
the palm is about 50 years old narrows again, repeating the swelling
process again and even a third time in very old palms. The rate of
growth, except when cultivated, in which case it is quicker, is very
slow. The seed germinates in a month and sends down a shoot from 2-4
feet deep into the ground. This shoot swells at the base and loses
connection with the empty seed, and sends up a green shoot from the
base, which forms the first leaf. In the root-bud stage it is eaten as
a vegetable, called “muruchi” and thousands of seeds are planted for
this purpose alone. The first leaf is a narrow blade, as are subsequent
leaves, gradually broadening till the first frond appears about three
years later, the stem appearing at ground level after some six or seven
years. From then onward the growth is at the rate of from 12-18 inches
a year, 50 year old palms being about 50-60 feet in height.
=The Bark.=—The stem is a smooth one after a number of years; the leaf
scars, very marked when fresh, gradually fading away.
=The Wood= is heavy and hard, apt to splinter into separate fibres, but
very durable above ground. It weighs about 50 lbs. a cubic foot. The
wood of the male is more compact throughout than that of the female
whose centre is looser, the outside only being really serviceable.
=The Leaves= are up to 12 feet long, fan-shaped, the segments V-shaped,
joined for half their length, the stalk concave above and spiny on the
margins. The sheath divides at the base before falling and remains for
some time clasping the stem.
=The Flowers= appear in April, just as the fruit has fallen, the
females on one tree the males on another. The males are on branched
spadices up to 6 feet long, the separate catkins a foot long and 2
inches broad. There are 3 sepals, 3 petals and 6 stamens, the flowers
being green. The females are on a 6-8 feet long spadix, unbranched,
with up to a dozen spikes of flowers, with 3 sepals, 3 smaller petals
and the rudiments of 6 stamens.
=The Fruits= are the most conspicuous feature, ripening in April to a
rich orange colour. They are some 6 inches long and 5 inches broad, the
enlarged calyx cupping the fruit. The edible, fibrous pulp surrounds
three seeds with hard fibrous coats and edible kernels.
=Uses.=—Locally the pulp is eaten raw or pounded with milk. The
kernel is eaten young. The root-buds are roasted and are a delicacy.
The leaves are used for mats, bags, baskets, fans, &c. Some tribes
extract salt from them. The wood is used for canoes, rafters, poles,
water-pipes, doors and guttering. Elsewhere the leaf stalks are the
source of fibre, a spirit has been distilled from the flower spathes
and buttons made from the seeds.
[Illustration]
=BOSWELLIA DALZIELII= Hutch.—_Hano, Ararabi, Basamu_. BURSERACEAE.
A very common tree in high savannah, extending as far north as 13°
where the soil is suitably rich and well watered. It will not grow as
far north as this where the conditions are dry and barren, granite
soils and situations on stony ground of the right kind being suitable.
In sand or laterite it will not thrive, but it will flourish on bare
granite where its roots can make their way into crevices. In some
suitable localities it forms almost pure forest and is a very handsome
species under those circumstances. The leaf, flower, fruit or bark are
all distinctive. Another closely allied species, _B. odorata_, differs
only in having a branched panicle in place of the bunch of racemes
of _B. Dalzielii_. When young or middle-aged the stem is erect and
the limbs ascend steeply forming a high crown, foliated down to a low
point. Older trees exhibit a short, massive bole from which the heavy
limbs spread out forming huge crowns with drooping extremities.
=The Bark= is most conspicuous, pale brown, with large papery pieces
peeling off and at times hanging in shreds from the stem. The slash
is reddish-brown and a scented gum-resin exudes, partly drying into
nodules, almost white in colour, readily crumbled.