spherical, 1½-2 inches in diameter, ripening from a shiny blue or
grey-green to a bright yellow, with a thick “shell” in which are some
6-9 seeds, each in its own sweet, sticky, orange-coloured pulp. The
seeds are ½ inch in diameter, rounded, flattened, concave one side,
convex the other, not hard, and readily cut in two. The fruit has a
small, blunt “nose,” and ripens about June.
[Illustration]
=SWARTZIA MADAGASCARIENSIS= Desv.—_Gamma fada, Bayama, Bogo zage,
Gwazkiya_. LEGUMINOSAE.
This is generally quite a small tree, some 15-20 feet high, but will
attain a height of 35-40 feet with girths of 4-5 feet or more. It is
erect, with straight stem and ascending branches which in older trees
terminate in pendulous twigs from which hang the long, soft, pinnate
leaves. Its range does not extend very far north and it is particularly
common in Bauchi, both on the plateau at some 4,000 feet altitude and
in the lower plains.
=The Bark= is dark grey and shaggy with long ragged scales which fall
in large pieces. That of small trees is light grey and smooth. The
slash is yellow.
=The Leaves= are pinnate, with alternate or opposite leaflets,
averaging 11 in number, the whole some 6-8 inches long, the
short-stalked leaflets oblong with rounded base and rounded, slightly
cleft tip, 2-3 inches long and an inch or more wide. The upper surface
is smooth, the lower covered with silky hairs. The colour is rather
pale green.
=The Flowers= are most distinctive with a large rounded, wavy-edged
petal, white, with greenish-yellow base and silky hairs on the back.
The globular calyx splits into cupped sections as the flower expands,
the stamens, varying in number, some 15 or so, are yellow and the ovary
and pistil is curved. The whole is on a stalk up to 2 inches in length.
The flowers are solitary or in small racemes.
=The Fruits= are pods from 6-12 inches long, straight, curved or
bent, and about ¾ inch thick. They are cylindrical and have a smooth,
shining, hard shell, dark brown in colour. The interior is divided
transversely into a number of cells in which the brown, flattened seeds
lie with their width in the direction of the pods’ length. The space
on each side of the seeds is full of sticky matter and the pod has an
objectionable odour, and persists for a long time on the tree, not
splitting.
=Uses.=—A concoction from the pods is used as a fish poison.
[Illustration]
=TAMARINDUS INDICA= Linn.—_Tsamiya_. “_Tamarind Tree_.” LEGUMINOSAE.
One of the commonest species of the north, in park formations, farm
lands and open country round towns. It thrives on poor soils, big
specimens growing on loose sand and shallow laterite. It is readily
identified from a distance by its very dense, dark, compact crown,
which may be oval or cylindrical with a pointed top, and uniformly
dense down to within a few feet of the ground. It has as a rule a
short, stout bole, 6-8 feet in girth, often divided a few feet from the
level of the ground into two or three large limbs, with short, gnarled
and crooked branches and a dense thicket of twigs. This compact form is
more common farther north, southern specimens showing a higher, wider,
and more umbrella-shaped crown. It averages 40-50 feet high. It is to
be seen at times growing in a curious manner in small clumps of four
or five stems on a raised earthy mound, possibly an old ant hill or an
accumulation of earth held up by the close-growing stems. There is a
very considerable leaf-fall and little grows beneath its shade. A quite
common association is that of this species with _Adansonia digitata_,
the Tamarind in this case embracing the other with long, sinuous limbs
to a considerable height, and having no main stem.
=The Bark= is light grey with even-sized, thick scales about 1 inch
square. These scales extend to the ends of the branches, getting
smaller and more regular, still thick and hard, with a considerable
resemblance to the bark of the Shea Butter Tree. The youngest trees
show this bark. The slash is pale red with a yellow outer layer.
=The Wood.= The heartwood is dark brown, almost purple-brown, the
sapwood pale yellow. In transverse section the pores are large, in
groups and festoons, the contents nearly filling them, and they are
numerous and the soft tissue occupies a large percentage of the wood.
The rays are very fine and close, not visible to the naked eye. The
wood is tough, very hard, heavy, cross-grained, blunts axes, saws with
difficulty and picks up under the plane, which will give a hard finish,
taking a polish. It is liable to crack in seasoning. The weight is 58
lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are pinnate, from 4-6 inches long with 10-12 pairs of dull
dark green leaflets, strap-like and notched at the tip. They have a
grey bloom and are waxy to the touch.
=The Flowers= are in slender, drooping panicles and are 1 inch across
with 4 yellow sepals, 3 orange-veined petals, 3 stamens and a hairy
ovary and pistil. They appear from December onwards.
=The Fruits= are pods which may be any shape from a single-seeded,
round knob to a sickle-shaped, or straight, fleshy pod containing, when
dry and ripe 6 or more hard shiny, brown seeds varying in shape from
flat and oval to rounded cubes. The ripe pod is yellowish and falls
entire. They ripen at the end of the year or later.
=Uses.=—The wood is used for implement handles and fuel.
The flowers are eaten fresh or as sauce.
The pods are used for making a bitter, not unpalatable drink, which is
a laxative.
The young saplings of this species are those used by the Filani for the
tests of endurance by flogging undergone by their youths.
In hollows in the trunk are found cocoons of a silkworm, _Anaphe_ sp.
(tsamiya) which are boiled with water and ashes, dried in the sun and
spun into the silk thread used for ornamenting the best gowns.
[Illustration]
=TERMINALIA AVICENNIOIDES= Guill. & Perr.—_Baushi_. COMBRETACEAE.
This is one of the commonest trees in a certain type of savannah, of
medium quality and height, and it is associated with other species of
the same genus, confusingly alike, over hundreds of square miles of
forest, especially round about the parallels of 11° and 12° N. The
leaf, though it is one of the means of identification, is very variable
in width, so that more than one species seems to be included under the
single name. With other _Terminalia_ species it often forms over 50 per
cent. of the forest and occurs pure in small groups. Usually a small
tree, 15-20 feet high, it attains over 30 feet, with a short bole and
widely spreading branches forming a large and very open crown. The
distinguishing feature is the cottony felt covering of both sides of
the leaf, the unequal basal lobes, and the downy fruit.
=The Bark= is grey or blue-grey, with very deep fissures and prominent
vertical, wavy ridges of hard cork, typical of the genus. The slash is
yellow, rapidly darkening on exposure.
=The Wood= resembles that of Oak in colour and hardness and often in
grain, being light brown with splashes of lighter tone, specially
noticeable on the tangential section, with a bright sheen. In
transverse section the rings are clear and the pores are clearly
visible to the unaided eye as lighter than the ground colour, grouped
in concentric rings of soft tissue, or evenly distributed in numerous
festoons. The rays are very fine, closely spaced and slightly wavy. The
wood is hard, sound, carpenters well and weighs 55 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are 7-9 inches long and 2-5 inches broad, either elliptic
or long and narrow, the upper surface dark green and softly cottony,
the under side almost white with the nerves very prominent and the
network of veins clearly outlined. The basal lobes are often unequal
and the tip more often rounded. The type illustrated is twice as broad
as the other extreme found.
=The Flowers= are in spikes about 4 inches long, loosely grouped, white
or pinkish in colour, the pink on the tips of the sepals. The calyx is
pubescent, and there are 8 erect stamens. The flowers are scented and
appear from February to May.
=The Fruits= are winged seeds 2-2½ inches long and 1 inch broad,
tapering at the ends and covered with a purplish or grey bloom.
=Uses.=—The roots are used for bows and walking sticks.
[Illustration]
=TERMINALIA GLAUCESCENS= Pl.—_Baushi_. COMBRETACEAE.
This is a large tree, sometimes as much as 60 feet in height with a
good clean bole 6-8 feet in diameter, especially on stream banks. The
crown of large trees is high, rounded and open, and a bole length of 30
feet is not uncommon. The distinguishing feature is the smooth under
surface of the leaf, which has only a slight pubescence, and the dark
smooth surface of the upper side. It is a prominent feature of better
class savannah and one of the largest species.
=The Bark= is dark grey and has very prominent wavy ridges with deep
fissures, typical of the genus. The slash is yellow, darkening rapidly.
=The Wood= is not unlike that of _T. avicennioides_, but lighter
in colour and more twisted in the grain, carpentering badly. It is
heavier, up to 65 lbs. per cubic foot, and is much coarser.
=The Leaves= are about 6 inches long and 3 inches broad, oval or
elliptic, rounded at the base, variable at the tip. Both surfaces
are smooth, the under surface having a slight down. The nerves are
prominent beneath and the reticulation of the veins very fine and clear.
=The Flowers= are on spikes 4-5 inches long, white, with rather long
flower stalks, a 5-pointed calyx, pointed in bud, 10 erect stamens and
a long ovary. They appear in the leaf axils from February to May and
are highly scented.
=The Fruits= are the typical winged ones of the genus, some 2¾ inches
long and an inch wide, thus unusually long for their breadth. They
ripen through brilliant shades of red and white to brown, with a fine
mauve or grey bloom.
=Uses.=—The roots are used for bows and walking sticks.
[Illustration]
=TERMINALIA MACROPTERA= Guill. & Perr.—_Kandari_. COMBRETACEAE.
One of the largest-leaved species and more readily distinguished on
sight than most species. It reaches a height of some 40 or more feet
with a girth of 6-7 feet. The bole is short, the heavy branches crooked
and spreading wide to form a rounded crown, fairly regular in form.
The species forms gregarious clumps and is not so evenly distributed
through Terminalia forest as are the other species. In the open
savannah of the better type which it inhabits the contrast between the
large pale green leaves and the almost black stem is very marked. The
distinguishing features are the large leaf, smooth on both surfaces,
the very marked rosettes of leaves, the short or almost absent
leaf-stalk and the large fruits.
=The Bark= is dark grey or almost black on the bole. The scales are
large, varying from rectangular to square and in old trees form long
ridges and fissures in waved pattern. That on the branches is light
grey and the long vertical scales are sharply cut transversely. The
slash is a dark red brown.
=The Wood= is similar to that of _T. glaucescens_, light oak-brown with
an uneven grain, difficult to carpenter and weighing some 60 lbs. a
cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are a foot or more in length, larger on smaller trees,
obovate with tapering base, broad blade, sharp tip, wavy margins and
very short thick stalk. They are pale green, almost the same colour on
both surfaces, smooth above and below, the heavy mid-rib almost white
and prominent on both sides, as are the very pronounced nerves. They
grow in marked rosettes which face the light all round the tree and
thus form quite good, though superficial, shade. Their texture is tough.
=The Flowers= are found from February to May, in long spikes in the
axils of the new leaves. They are white with the usual 5-pointed calyx,
10 stamens and short pistil. The calyx is smooth but there is a slight
pubescence on the inflorescence as a whole.
=The Fruits= are the usual winged seed, a large and heavy crop of which
is borne on the lower part of the spike, the rest seedless. The seed is
4-5 inches long and 1-1½ inches broad, pale green at first and smooth,
turning a rich purple with a bloom, the wing slightly spiral twisted,
the seed itself tapering acutely at both ends. It dries brown.
=Uses.=—The roots are used for sticks and bows.
[Illustration]
=TRICHILIA EMETICA= Vahl.—_Gwanja kusa, Jan saye_. MELIACEAE.
A medium-sized tree occurring up to 11° N. in Tree or better-class
Bush savannah. In Zaria and Bauchi provinces gregarious clumps are not
uncommon. A height of 30 feet with a girth of 3-4 feet is an average
well-grown tree. The distinguishing features are the large, soft
pinnate leaves, green flowers and crimson capsular fruits, the last
very conspicuous. It is a low-branched, spreading tree, giving good
shade and apparently grows very slowly.
=The Bark= is pale grey and rough with large, thick, corky, rectangular
scales.
=The Leaves= are in terminal tufts on the thick twigs, at first erect,
then drooping, and are 15 inches long with a heavy stalk covered with
velvety hairs. The leaflets average 4 pairs with a terminal leaflet and
increase in size from below upwards, the basal pair being nearly round
and the others increasing in length, with a tapered base and broad
cleft tip. The mid-rib of each leaflet projects slightly just below
the cleft tip, not actually in the cleft. The upper surface is a rich,
smooth green, the underside paler, with prominent nerves, sunk on the
upper surface of the leaf.
=The Flowers= are nearly an inch in diameter, appearing from February
onwards. They are in short, stout racemes with a hairy bract at the
base of each flower. They appear before the leaves and flower till the
leaves are almost full grown. Each has a calyx of 5 sepals which cups
the corolla of 5 long greenish petals whose face is concave and tips
curved as in the bud. The stamens are joined for half their length and
form a ring round the pistil whose globular stigma surmounts them.
=The Fruits= are prominent capsules, ripening to a rich red colour
before drying brown. They are 4-segmented with an uneven surface and
a prominent “nose,” and contain 4 cells with a seed in each, not
always distinctly separated or fully developed. The fruits are most
conspicuous amongst the leaves.
=Uses.=—The local uses are few, the oil being rarely expressed, and the
root occasionally used as a mild purge, unpopular owing to its extreme
bitterness. The oil is, however, valuable from other parts of Africa,
and has been exported, the seeds containing some 60 per cent. of oil
suitable for soap and candles and has been valued at £9 10s. per ton of
seed.
[Illustration]
=UAPACA GUINEENSIS= Müll. Arg.—_Kafafogo_. EUPHORBIACEAE.
A large tree up to 40 feet high with 6-8 feet girth. It occurs as
almost pure forest in some localities, is very local, requires good
soils and rainfalls, and in such conditions does not, as a rule,
exceed 30 feet high with 3-4 feet girths. It is especially common in
S. Sokoto, Kontagora, on the escarpments of the Bauchi Plateau and in
parts of Zaria Province and on the Plateau itself attains large sizes
on the banks of small streams. It is most easily recognised by its
shining rosettes of leaves, wax-like yellow flowers or yellow fig-like
fruits. It has an erect stem, short bole, whorled branches and regular
rounded crown, not very dense from the shade point of view. Its leaf
fall covers the ground and little grows beneath it.
=The Bark= is black, with small, round, even-sized, closely packed
scales, often lichenous. Very old trees lose these scales at the base
and a brown, fibrous looking bark replaces them. The small black scales
are borne almost to the tips of the branches. The slash is red.
=The Wood= is pale red. In transverse section the rings show as fine
white lines between broader, darker bands. The pores are small,
numerous and in rows between the long fine rays which are visible as
small bands in radial section. In the plank the pores appear numerous
and short and the grain is marked faintly in dark and light lines. The
pores glisten with resin. The wood is not hard, easy to work and planes
to a soft finish with no polish. It is liable to radial cracks but is
otherwise a sound, clean timber.
=The Leaves= are up to a foot long and 6 inches wide, oval, rounded at
the tip and gradually tapering to the short, broad stalk. They are a
dark, brightly shining green, much paler beneath, covered with short,
erect, stiff hairs, feeling slightly rough to the touch. The mid-rib is
raised a little on the upper surface and is very prominent beneath. The
nerves are light in colour.
=The Flowers= are monoecious, male and female on the same tree, the
female situated below the male. Both are similar in appearance, grouped
in clusters round the thick shoots at the base of the leaves, and their
parts are surrounded by thick yellow bracts in place of petals. The
male has dense clusters of separate flowers, compressed into a ball,
each minute flower having 5 2-anthered stamens and a rudimentary ovary
amongst minute bracts. The female has 3 triple stigmas. The flowers
appear during the rains.
=The Fruits= are like figs at first sight, but very different in
structure. Borne in long clusters on the leafless twigs, or amongst the
leaves, they ripen in March or April and may persist till July. They
are ¾ inch in diameter, round or slightly pear-shaped, yellow and juicy
ripening to dry and red-brown. The remains of the stigma show at the
tip as three small black, shredded tufts radiating from the centre, and
the division of the fruit shows itself on the outside by three slight
ridges. A cross section through the fleshy fruit shows the design of
the curiously folded green cotyledons lying in the kernels. The fruit
coat is covered with short stiff hairs. The seeds are hard, ½ inch
long, oval and grooved.
[Illustration]
=VERNONIA AMYGDALINA= Del.—_Shiwaka_. COMPOSITAE.
A very common shrub or small tree, abundant on the banks of streams and
large rivers where it forms an impenetrable thicket. It has either a
number of stems from ground level or a single low-branched stem forming
a rounded crown up to 12 or 15 feet high.
=The Bark= is light grey and smooth with no distinctive character.
=The Leaves= are some 6 inches long and 1¾ inches wide, this being an
average, the largest reaching 8 inches in length and 3 inches in width.
They are alternate on the shoots, long and tapering at both ends with
an acute point and stalks about ½ inch long. The margins are waved. The
upper surface is a dull dark green, paler beneath with the venation
prominent. There are often hairs on the surface.
=The Flowers= are in large terminal panicles, sometimes nearly a foot
wide. The flowers are in composite heads about ½ inch long, with some
20 flowers in an involucre of pale green scales, the corolla and bifid
style white. The flowers are found mostly in the rains.
=The Fruit= is a seed, or achene, with the usual pappus or ring of
bristles by which it is distributed on the wind. The “thistle-down”
heads are about ½ inch in diameter.
=Uses.=—The root is used as a chew-stick for cleaning the teeth and as
tonic bitters. The leaves are used medicinally.
[Illustration]
=VITEX CIENKOWSKII= Kotschy & Peyr.—_Dinya, Dunya_. VERBENACEAE.
A large tree which occurs more or less evenly distributed throughout
the forests. It is rather exacting as a rule as to soil conditions and
will not flourish in poor situations, preferring deep soils. It grows
to a height of 30-40 feet with girths of 6 or 7 feet, and specimens 10
feet in girth are by no means uncommon. It can be distinguished at a
distance by its very large, dense, dark green and regular crown with
rounded top. The crown, in the case of trees grown in the open, comes
to within 6-10 feet of the ground. Examples growing in the forest
exhibit a distinct form, with longer boles and higher, more cylindrical
crowns, and the branches ascend at an acute angle to the stem. It is a
prolific fruiting species, but more often than not the fruits are burnt
on the ground by the grass fires which occur from December on, the
months when the fruits fall. It grows very well from the seeds which
retain their germinating qualities for some time.
=The Bark=, which is a very distinctive feature, is light brown or
grey, appearing smooth at a distance, and is fibrous in appearance
with very narrow and long, vertical fissures and stringy ridges. It is
often much darker on the limbs than on the stem. The slash is yellow,
darkening on exposure.
=The Wood= is light brown, rather like Teak. In transverse section the
rings are indistinct darker lines, the pores are large, open, mostly
single, with a few double pores. The rays are plainly visible, broad,
waved, unevenly spaced, with sometimes room for two pores between.
The soft tissue round the pores is very poorly developed. In vertical
section the pores are distinctive for their curves and the rays are
plainly visible as brown flecks in tangential and iridescent bands in
radial section. Some of the pore contents glisten. The wood is soft,
coarse but nicely grained, very easy to saw and plane, with a soft
finish and no polish. The weight is 53 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are digitate with usually 5, sometimes 6, lobes. They
are about 8 inches across, but vary considerably in size and have a 4
inch stalk. A round, pointed leaf-gall is common on the leaves, which
are dark green with a bloom on the upper surface and paler with raised
venation on the under surface. The young leaves are a deep red-purple.
=The Flowers= are in small, erect panicles which appear in January.
They are about ⅜ inch across, tubular with 5 petals, 4 of which are
small and white, the fifth larger and pink. There are 2 long and 2
short stamens.
=The Fruits= are in pendulous bunches which ripen from December on.
They are black and shiny with little brown lenticels on the skin, a
black or dark brown flesh and a large stone. They are ¾-1 inch in
diameter. The calyx, which enlarges and holds the unripe fruit, dries,
shrivels and recedes from the ripe fruit. Bees are greatly attracted by
it.
=Uses.=—The wood is used for making small canoes and large drums.
The fruits are used for making sweetmeats (alewa and madi) and have a
taste of honey.
The young leaves are eaten with groundnuts, pepper and salt: they are
also an ingredient of ink, being mixed with gum and boiled down to a
thickened extract.
Beehives are commonly placed in the branches of this tree.
[Illustration]
=VITEX DIVERSIFOLIA= Baker.—_Dunyar biri_. VERBENACEAE.
A small tree some 15 feet high, occasionally more, not very common
but occurring here and there in Tree savannah and with a very wide
distribution. It has little form, being erect and of open growth. Its
distinguishing character is the highly scented leaf and the fact that
some may be simple and others tri-foliolate. The leaves and branches
are in whorls of three, and the fruits like small, oblong editions of
those of the well-known _V. Cienkowskii_.
=The Bark= is light grey and very thick with soft cork and large
rectangular scales. This is, however, largely due to fires.
=The Leaves= are 4-5 inches long and 2-3 inches broad with a stalk 2-3
inches long. When there is a single leaf it is rounded ovate, with
slightly cordate base, but if tri-foliolate the leaflets are obovate
with tapering base. The margins are waved. The upper surface is dark
green with hairs scattered all over the surface and the under side is
densely covered, especially on the venation, with hairs, this being
far more marked when the leaf is younger, when the venation is very
prominent, though it is grooved on the upper surface. The leaves are
generally in whorls of three at each stem node. When crushed they give
off a strong sage-like odour.
=The Flowers= are in cymes in the leaf axils, on long stalks, either in
whorls of three or pairs. Each has a 5-pointed bell-shaped calyx, an
irregular tubular corolla, the lip large and mauve, the remaining lobes
greenish and pubescent, 4 stamens pressed up against the top of the
corolla and a small, curved white pistil with bifid stigma.
=The Fruits= are egg-shaped, about ¾-1 inch long, ripening from green
to black, spotted with lenticels and cupped for about one-third of
their length by the hairy enlarged calyx. They are fleshy drupes with a
hard “stone” containing 4 cells, each with one seed. The flesh is very
narrow.
[Illustration]