and are in such numbers as to be conspicuously yellow from a great
distance. The flowering tends to be patchy, that is, part of the
tree may be smothered in flowers on one side and not on the other.
The flowers are in short spikes with a bright green calyx and a
papilionaceous corolla of much-wrinkled yellow petals, which turn pale
when fertilised.
=The Fruits= are winged, round, 2 inches in diameter with the wing much
waved and the embossed seed portion covered with short, bristly hairs
which lie in all directions. They are often so numerous as to give the
tree the appearance of being in leaf. They dry light brown.
=Uses.=—Larger specimens yield timber suitable for construction and
furniture. Smaller trees are used for building posts.
[Illustration]
=RANDIA NILOTICA= Stapf.—_Chibra_. RUBIACEAE.
A shrub or small tree, readily recognised by its stiff, spiny stems
densely covered with the small leaves. The stems spring from the base
and are either erect or finally bent out and down. Occasionally it
forms a dense shrub of large size, but usually is light and open. It
occurs as far north as 13°, and is common in open high savannah forests.
=The Bark= is light grey, sometimes almost white, with black scales
scattered about in patches.
=The Thorns= are above the leaves and are short, sharp, very strong and
woody, with bark at the base and smooth tips.
=The Leaves= are about 1½ inches long, narrow at the base, broad at the
tip, and smooth; the veins slightly raised on both surfaces. They are
borne in rosettes at the ends of very short twigs, above which is a
thorn, and densely cover the branches.
=The Flowers= spring from amongst the rosettes of leaves and may be so
numerous as to cover the twigs with a mass of bloom. They are white,
changing to yellow and are slightly scented. Each has a short-stalked
tubular calyx with 5 unequal-sized sepals with cleft tips, a tubular
corolla about ¾ inch in diameter with 5 petals, bent back, 5 stamens in
the angles between the petals, consisting of dark brown anthers only,
and a yellow, protruding, clubbed pistil. The flowers appear in May.
=The Fruits=, ripening in June, and often persisting for several
months, are oval, 5-8 inches long and ½ inch in diameter, brown, shiny,
hard, with thin “skin” vertically ribbed and cellular veined. It is
2-celled and the partition is vertical, each cell containing a number
of small black wedge-shaped seeds packed close and cemented together.
The fruit falls entire and rots.
[Illustration]
=RAPHIA VINIFERA= P. Beauv.—_Tukuruwa_. PALMACEAE.
This very common palm grows in swamps, where it forms impenetrable
thickets often of large extent. It is readily distinguished by its very
long erect leaves growing from ground level, there being no stem. It
reaches a height of over 30 feet, the girth of the base being some 8
feet. The leaves spread out from a growing centre, visible as an erect
shoot in the middle.
=The Leaves= are upwards of 30 feet in length with long leaflets whose
edges and mid-rib at the back are armed with small sharp spines. The
mid-rib is an orange colour, turning grey with age.
=The Flowers= are in a loose branched spadix up to 6 or 8 feet long,
the male and female on the same palm and on the same spadix. The males
on the lower part of the branches of the spadix have a tubular calyx, a
corolla of 3 petals, long and narrow and a number of stamens, varying
from 10-12 inside the base of the petals, attached to them. The female
flowers, situated at the end of the branches of the spadix, are larger
than the males, the calyx tubular, the corolla bell-shaped with 3 sharp
lobes, the rudiments of the stamens forming a cup attached to the
corolla and a 3-celled ovary.
=The Fruits= are like cones, some 3 inches long and 1½-2 inches broad,
smooth and shiny, with a number of broad, pointed scales, varying in
colour from chestnut to red-brown. They contain one kernel, loose in
the shell.
=Uses.=—The leaflets are used for plaiting into mats, &c. The mid-rib
is used for roofing material, beds, canoe poles, and split into
lengths, the inner portion makes mats. The sap is used for wine. The
inside of the fruit (outside the kernel) is eaten, expressed for oil,
used as a medicine or for dressing the hair in various parts of Nigeria.
[Illustration]
=RHUS INSIGNIS= Del.—_Kasheshi_. ANACARDIACEAE.
A small tree of the open Bush savannah, some 15-20 feet high. There
is either a single stem or several. The crown is distinctive with its
long, straight, slender branches and light appearance. It is very
susceptible to fire and is frequently met with in coppice form owing
to the destruction of the stems. The distinguishing features are the
drooping leaves in threes and the small black, wrinkled fruits.
=The Bark= is grey or light brown, vertically, but not deeply, ridged.
=The Leaves= are borne in threes at a node and the short stalk bends
back, allowing the leaves to hang vertical. They are 3 inches long and
an inch broad, a rich, dark green above, silvery below, with the dense
covering of silky hairs. The venation is parallel on either side of the
mid-rib, short and long nerves alternating. The leaf is inclined to
fold up along the mid-rib.
=The Flowers= appear in the rains and are in large, erect sprays. Each
flower is about ¼ inch in diameter with 5 sepals, 5 white petals and
10 stamens. Owing to their numbers and prominent position at the twig
ends, they are conspicuous.
=The Fruits= are numerous, flattened, single-seeded ovals, shiny black
with wrinkled skins and persistent for many months on the leafless
tree in the dry season. They are very hard and are a ready means of
identification.
[Illustration]
=SARCOCEPHALUS RUSSEGERI= Kotschy.—_Tafashiya_. RUBIACEAE.
This common species is often more of a shrub than a tree, but in the
more favourable localities which it inhabits, chiefly “fadammas” or
wet soils among rocks, 30 feet is by no means an unusual height. Older
trees generally have several large, crooked stems rising from a common
stock or a short, stout bole some 5 feet in girth. Smaller, shrub-like
specimens are very straggling with open growth and long, drooping and
interlacing branches. The crown, in spite of the size and thickness
of the leaves, is fairly open. It is easily identified by either the
flowers or fruit which latter can be found for several months of the
year.
=The Bark= is grey, or brown and dull in older trees, with very deep,
wide and long fissures and thick, soft ridges. The scales are up to 12
inches in length. The slash is yellow, with crimson streaks.
=The Wood= is a deep red-brown colour, but is not used owing both to
the small sizes and the lack of bole in the tree.
=The Leaves= are large and rounded with a tongued tip. They average 7
inches long and 3 inches wide, but reach as much as 10 inches long and
5 inches wide. The upper surface is a dark, shining green with pale
venation; the under surface pale green with the venation raised. There
is a short, red leaf-stalk.
=The Flowers= are in balls about 2 inches in diameter and appear in
February. They fade very quickly. The flower-balls are composed of
some hundreds of small flowers which seem white, as each is a yellow,
tubular, 5-lobed corolla with a shiny white pistil with an acorn-shaped
stigma which is very long. There are 5 small stamens attached to
the inside of the corolla, which do not appear. The flowers are
sweet-scented.
=The Fruits= vary somewhat in size and shape but are roughly round or
oval, 2-3 inches in diameter and dark red-brown with the surface pitted
with the pentagonal scars of the flowers. There is a crimson flesh
surrounding a mass of small seeds round a pith centre. They are edible
and have a not unpleasant, sweet, acid flavour. They ripen towards the
end of the year but can be found for many months on the tree and fall
to rot on the ground.
=Uses.=—A medicine for stomach pains is made from the fruits.
[Illustration]
=SCLEROCARYA BIRROEA= Hochst.—_Danya_. ANACARDIACEAE.
This very common tree was, until 1922, considered a species of
_Spondias_, from its resemblance to _S. lutea_, a species occurring
commonly further south. It is of medium size, up to 40 feet in height
with girths of 6-8 feet. It grows on almost any soil and flourishes
in loose sand or dry barren situations where it can be found almost
as pure forest. The short heavy bole gives a large volume of timber,
but the bole length rarely exceeds 12 feet from which point the much
bent branches form a large, round, open crown giving little shade. The
pinnate foliage, red flower-spikes or yellow plums distinguish it.
Owing to its use for native mortars enormous waste takes place, one
mortar being carved from trees which will provide three or four, the
rest being allowed to rot or burn. Quite large limbs can be pulled off
by hand as they snap very readily. It is not very fast growing and
seedlings branch at ground level. Seedlings, however, are very hardy,
sending a thickened tap-root several feet into the ground the first
year.
=The Bark= is light grey, sometimes smooth and silvery, and large
scales, which turn up at their edges and give the stem a ragged
appearance, leave the stem smooth again after falling. The slash is
salmon pink to red and spongy and fibrous in composition.
=The Wood= has a dirty white ground colour with a well-marked reddish
grain in bands and streaks, with dark brown patches. In transverse
section the pores are small, not very numerous, evenly distributed,
mostly single with a few double pores and small nests, in oblique
rows, the soft tissue very poorly developed as fine lines imperfectly
connecting the pores. The rays are fine, closely and regularly spaced
and fairly straight, and they show as light-reflecting bands in radial
section, and as a fine stippling in tangential section. The wood is
soft, coarse-grained, sawing roughly and picking up, often full of
small knots and liable to small borer-beetle attacks. It is fairly
durable if well seasoned and weighs 36 lbs. a cubic foot. Good sizes
are obtainable.
=The Leaves= are pinnate, some 9 inches long with 8-9 pairs and
a terminal leaflet, rounded, with the venation much branched and
prominent on both sides. They are bluish-green with a slight bloom and
tend to fold up along the mid-rib.
=The Flowers= appear from January to April and even in May in the
extreme north, on small, 2-3 inch long, erect spikes on the leafless
twigs. They are slightly scented. Each has 4 small red sepals, 4 petals
recurved, green with red tips, 16 yellow stamens and a red pistil. Each
flower is in the axil of a small, red bract.
=The Fruits= ripen from April to June and are light yellow or pale
green plums 1½ inches in diameter, with a tough skin and a juicy,
mucilaginous flesh which is with difficulty separated from the rough
stone.
=Uses.=—The wood is greatly in demand for mortars. The fruit is eaten
fresh but its amenability is increased by stewing, the flesh being full
of fibres attached to the stone.
[Illustration]
=SECURIDACA LONGIPEDUNCULATA= Fres.—_Uwar magunguna, Sainya_.
POLYGALACEAE.
This common shrub or small tree is very familiar in open bush and scrub
country, growing in the driest localities up to the extreme north of
the country. As generally met with it is a small, erect and delicate
shrub, some 12-15 feet high, but trees up to 25 or 30 feet are not
uncommon, especially in Sokoto province, where a girth of 3 feet is
attained. It is readily distinguished by its flowers and by its seeds,
and the slender, erect branches are distinctive. It is common amongst
the broken rocks of the Bauchi Plateau.
=The Bark= is fairly smooth and light brown, yellowish or grey, with
very small dark-coloured scales at certain times. The slash is yellow.
=The Wood= is light yellow in colour and the annual rings are very
distinctively marked in dark brown, the dry wood parting at these rings
into a series of concentric cylinders. Weight 55 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are small and elliptical in shape, about 2½ inches or less
in length, and under ½ inch wide. They are a light grey-green on both
surfaces and are set spirally round the long twigs, erect and nearly
parallel with the twig.
=The Flowers= are irregularly shaped, of an uniform red-purple, in
small loose spikes. Two of the sepals are modified and appear to be
petals. There is a concave lower petal with an appendage and two small
petals. There are 8 stamens with peculiar-shaped anthers. The flowers
appear from February to April and are very decorative and highly
perfumed.
=The Fruits= are winged seeds, 2 inches long, the seed portion being
prominently ridge-veined and the wing with close parallel venation.
They become red before drying to pale yellow and are conspicuous.
=Uses.=—The root, which has a rank odour, is made into a concoction
and taken as a purge. Bits of it are also worn as a charm. The seeds
are crushed and used as a substitute for soap and a concoction of them
taken as a cure for colds. The roots are sometimes an ingredient of
arrow poisons. The name “Mother of Medicines” is given it from the
number of medicinal properties possessed by the plant.
[Illustration]
=STERCULIA TOMENTOSA= G. & P.—_Kukuki_. STERCULIACEAE.
A common tree which inhabits granite country and may be found in
quantity on hills or in valleys amongst rocks. It does not occur in
the extreme north on laterite formations. There is rarely any length
of bole, the stem branching low down and the large, crooked limbs
spreading wide apart to form a very open crown of irregular form. It
can be distinguished at once by its purple bark. Amongst rocks the
roots are above ground for several feet, clasping the boulders or
creeping between the crevices. Root flanges are common. The branches
are so soft in the wood that they, or even the whole of a fair-sized
tree may be swayed to and fro by the hand, without difficulty.
=The Bark= is purple and quite smooth except for occasional large grey
scales which leave yellow patches of very distinctive appearance. A gum
exudes from the crimson slash and a watery sap flows at certain seasons.
=The Wood= is white and so soft as to be useless.
=The Leaves= are about 4-5 inches long and 3½-4 inches broad, cordate
with the lobes overlapping the stalk, roughly 3-lobed, the middle lobe
being the most prominent and the outline of two other lobes at the base
being sometimes visible. There are 5 main veins corresponding with
these lobes. The leaves are light green and downy on both sides, the
nerves prominent on the under surface. There is a stalk about 3 inches
long. The leaves are soft in texture.
=The Flowers= which spring from old as well as young wood are in small
erect panicles 2-3 inches long, appearing February to April. The calyx
is ½-¾ inches across, pale green with reddish lines from base to near
tip, 5-lobed and downy. There are no petals. The stamens are on a
column which is divided into 5 branches, each bearing 3 anthers. The
anthers surround the style which is curved and finally the stamens drop
off and leave the style exposed.
=The Fruits= are pods about 3-4 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.
There are 4 or 5 together radiating from a twig end and they are the
readiest means of identification. They are rounded in the middle and
pointed at the end with a groove on the under side along which the pod
splits. They are covered with greenish hairs like plush, in a manner
similar to the fruits of the Baobab tree. About December the fruit
ripens and splits, the seeds falling and the pod remaining on the tree.
The seeds, about a dozen, are purplish with a horny, yellow aril at the
base and they are attached to both edges of the pod, sitting on small
bosses which are covered with short stiff brownish hairs that penetrate
the skin of the fingers. There is a large roomy space in the pod, the
seeds being small in proportion.
=Uses.=—The watery sap which exudes from a slash in the spring is drunk
in extremity of thirst.
[Illustration]
=STEREOSPERMUM KUNTHIANUM= Cham.—_Sansami, Jiri_. BIGNONIACEAE.
This is, as commonly met with, quite a small tree, some 20 feet high,
with a girth of 2 feet. Larger specimens up to 60 feet in height with
a girth of 4 feet are occasionally seen, these dimensions showing the
slender proportions of the species. It occurs in clumps, specially
fine examples of which are to be seen in Sokoto where they are spread
by root suckers. The stem is nearly always waved or spiral, this
peculiarity persisting in the larger trees. The stem forks early
and the twisted branches form a high crown and the clumps a light
canopy under which little grows. Twin stems are common and root
suckers abound. The power to grow these suckers is very persistent,
as evidenced by cases of them appearing on land which has been farmed
for many years and on which there has been no sign of the tree being
allowed to grow. Great difficulty has been experienced in growing the
tree by artificial means though the seed has been germinated, but the
seedlings would not stand transplanting.
=The Bark= is pale grey or greenish with very large scales which expose
contrasting light patches after the manner of the Plane tree. The slash
is white with green edges.
=The Wood= is white or cream-coloured, with tinges of yellow and pink.
In transverse section the rings are indistinct darker lines, the pores
are very small, in festoons with a large percentage of soft tissue
plainly visible as flecks and long concentric lines. The rays are not
very closely or evenly spaced, seen as light-reflecting bands in radial
section. The grain is fairly straight, following the waved stem of the
tree, and coarse with the numerous open pores. The rings show as bands
in radial section. The wood is fairly hard, easily sawn, not so readily
planed, picking up a little, the finished surface being rather coarse.
The weight is 60 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are pinnate with 2-3 pairs of leaflets and a terminal one.
The whole is about a foot long and the leaflets 3-4 inches long. They
darken and toughen with age and are greyish-green beneath and much
darker above. The lower pair are often rounded at the tip. The mid-rib
is almost white in contrast to the upper surface, and the venation is
raised on the underneath.
=The Flowers= are in large, drooping panicles of beautiful, pale pink,
funnel-shaped blossoms, which appear in March and bloom till the leaves
are grown. They are sometimes much darker on individual trees. They
have a small 5-lobed calyx, dark at the base, a pink, tubular, 5-lobed
corolla with the lobes crinkled and covered on the inside with hairs
and darker lines on the inside of each petal. They have four stamens,
grouped on each side of the pistil, 2 longer and 2 shorter, with the
appearance of a lyre.
=The Fruits= are pods about 18 inches long and ¼ inch thick,
cylindrical and spirally twisted with a long tapering tip. The pod is
filled with a whitish pithy substance into which the seeds with wing
above and below are embedded, the wings shaped concavely to fit against
the pith. The pods are dark brown and split down both sides throughout
their length, the seeds sliding down and falling out. The pods are so
persistent that their halves are found on the twigs at the same time as
the next year’s pods are fully grown.
=Uses.=—In large sizes in Bornu it is used for mortars, and cut for
fuel and “gofas,” being most conveniently forked. Locally, pagans will
lay a length of it across the house door to prevent thieves entering.
There is a superstition that smoke from it will cause leprosy and in
Sokoto it is called Dan Sarkin Itache as a mark of respect.
[Illustration]
=STRYCHNOS SPINOSA= Lam.—_Kokiya_. LOGANIACEAE.
This is the best known and most familiar of the Strychnos species and
can be distinguished from the others by the large size of its fruits.
It is usually a small tree about 15-20 feet high but will grow over 30
feet in height with a girth of about 3 feet. The stem branches low, the
branches ascending at first and then bending over and drooping low,
especially when borne down by the weight of the fruits. This drooping
habit distinguishes it from the other species which occur in the
open. Often the branches interlace after the manner of the _Zizyphus_
species. The species occurs everywhere in open situations and on the
most barren soils.
=The Bark= is smooth and light brown in colour, and small, grey scales
form and leave light patches when they fall. The slash is yellowish,
with green edges.
=The Thorns= are in pairs at rather wide intervals along the branches
and twigs, and are white with black tips. They are sharply recurved.
=The Wood= is whitish with grey streaks, hard, close grained and sound,
picking up a little under the plane, finishing with a smooth surface,
and weighs 65 lbs. a cubic foot. In transverse section the pores are
very fine, numerous in the many chains and festoons of soft tissue
which are clearly visible to the unaided eye and form almost a herring
bone pattern. The rays are long, nearly straight, and variable in
thickness.
=The Leaves= are oval and about 2½ inches long and 1½ inches broad with
a short stalk. They are shiny on the upper surface, lighter beneath,
and have palmate venation of a distinct type.
=The Flowers=, which appear in February, are in little clusters,
and are green. Each is ¼ inch long and has 5 narrow sepals and a
bell-shaped corolla of 5 lobes, whose mouth is closed by a ring of
hairs. They are slightly perfumed.
=The Fruits=, which distinguish this species from the others, are
large, yellow, round berries, some 4 or 5 inches in diameter, green
when unripe, bright yellow and resembling an orange when ripe. The hard
rind encloses a number of round flat seeds in a brownish, sweet, edible
pulp. The seeds themselves are poisonous. The fruit is very slow in
maturing and may be found on the tree for about six months in the year.
=Uses.=—The pulp of the fruit is eaten, the seeds being rejected as
poisonous.
[Illustration]
=STRYCHNOS TRICLISIOIDES= Baker.—_Kokiya_. LOGANIACEAE.
A small, erect tree, from 12-20 feet high, or more, with a girth of
1-2 feet. The branches are vertical, and do not spread, there being no
crown as such. The stem may be free of branches for some 10 feet, or
there may be more than one stem, forking near the base. It does not
occur far north, and is particularly common on rocky soils in granite
country. It is in form very dissimilar to the other well-known species,
_S. spinosa_, and unlike it has no thorns. It can be determined by its
flowers, fruits and leaves, which are all typical of the genus.
=The Bark= is smooth in all shades of pale greys and greens, with a
powdery surface. The small scales leave light, concave scars like the
Plane tree. The bark is so distinctive that when recognised, it will
identify the tree alone. The slash is cream-coloured, with green edges.
=The Wood= is yellow, hard, coarse and stringy, difficult to plane,
cracks when drying and weighs 55 lbs. a cubic foot. In transverse
section the rings are indistinct, the pores large, closed and strung
rather widely apart between or on the rays which are long, fine and
wavy and close together, varying much in thickness.
=The Leaves= are in pairs, each pair at right angles to the next above
and below though a twisting occurs to enable the leaves to turn their
faces to the light. The leaf is 2-3 inches long and 1-1¼ inches wide,
oval in shape, narrow at the base, broad at the tip, a dull, smooth
pale green above, paler beneath, the venation prominent on the under
side only and composed of 3 main nerves, the laterals leaving the main
rib about a third of the way up. The secondary venation is cellular and
delicate. The stalk is dorsally flattened.
=The Flowers= are typically in threes on short stalks and are borne in
small clusters, especially on last season’s wood below the new season’s
leaves, in April-June. Each has a cup-shaped 4-lobed calyx, a tubular,
4-lobed, yellowish corolla, 4 stamens with anthers which protrude
slightly from a ring of hairs closing the mouth of the corolla and a
pistil whose black stigma also protrudes.