Chapter IX: The Nigerian Timber Trees (7)

_Pentadesma butyraceæ_. Butter or Tallow Tree. Okarora, Ossa (Ondo); Ekuso (Yoruba) (Ikale); Ijeni Udegbu, Agba (west side), Udegbi (Benin); Orugbo erin (Ondo); Amu Ne (New Calabar); Ikakama Udia Ebian (Efik); Ikakama Udia Ebian, Igbofia (Ibibio); Ntini Nyok (Kwa).

_Distribution._—It is found in the evergreen forests of the Jebu, Ode,
Benin, Warri, Owerri and Calabar provinces of Nigeria. It is quite
prevalent in its typical locality and very damp, almost swampy,
regions of the forest near small waterways, even comparatively near
the sea.

_Chief Characteristics._—It is a thin, tall tree, with dark bark and
flatly compressed crown consisting of four or five tiers of branches,
very close together in almost true whorls. The foliage is very thick
and the leaves thick and leathery. It exudes a mass of gamboge-like
latex as soon as slashed, and the slash is orange-red. The latex
solidifies on exposure to the air. The large pear-shaped fruit has a
soft rind, which usually is pierced by the fall to the ground, and the
Cola-shaped seeds are embedded in a soft, yellowish-white pulp. The
large sepals at the base of the flower are quite typical, in their
persistency often being found at the base of unripe fruit.

_Timber._—It has yellowish-white sapwood and light-red heartwood of
firm texture, with a certain amount of waviness in it, especially if
the tree has been barked in its earlier years. It is not hard, and is
easy to work; it does not appear to warp or shrink.

_Silvicultural Qualities._—It is a shade-bearer with very persistent
evergreen leaves. It will stand in waterlogged land and grow almost to
perfection. The branches are also very persistent, and it is only when
growing in close proximity to other heavy foliaged trees that the bole
clears itself of branches for two-thirds of its length. The stump
shoots sprout up when the tree is cut down. The more prevalent form of
reproduction is by seed. The mature tree bears quite prolifically
almost every year. The timber has not been felled for export, but the
seeds are worth £8 a ton on account of the oil that they contain,
which is considered suitable for soap-making.

_Pentadesma Nigritana_. Odgebu (west side) (Benin).

_Distribution._—It is found in the Oban Reserve of the Calabar
province of Nigeria.

_Characteristics._—It is a medium-sized tree with black bark on the
branches. The leaves are glabrous coriaceous, 3½ to 4½ inches long and
1 to 1½ inches broad.

_Silvicultural Qualities._—It grows in the evergreen forests, is a
shade-bearer and comparatively slow-growing tree.

_Utility._—The fruit has not yet been collected, but, judging by the
locality in which this tree is found, the seeds would contain similar
quantities of oil to those of _P. butyraceæ_.

_Haronga Madagascariensis_ (Kew). Benin Roof-pole. Itue (Benin).

It is a non-indigenous tree (exotic) which is now found in the
Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ondo, Benin, Warri, Owerri, Ogoja and Calabar
provinces of Nigeria.

It is commonly seen growing up in old farms in the heavier soils of
the evergreen and mixed deciduous forest zones. The slash, which is
brick-red and exudes a yellowish-red latex, is most typical of this
tree. The tree is almost gregarious, forming groups nearly half an
acre in extent; the bark peels very easily, leaving a clean white stem
which hardens very much on exposure to the air. It is a small tree,
attaining a girth of about 2 feet and a height of about 40 feet. The
wood is quite white, with a small pink pith about a quarter of an inch
in diameter; it is a very light wood and most durable when under
cover.

The leaves are of a medium size and rough to the touch. When 2 to 4
inches in diameter the natives cut the trees, clean and strip off the
bark, and use them for rafters in house-building, especially in the
Benin and Yoruba countries.

_Symphonia globulifera_ (Kew). Hog Gum.

It was reported from the Calabar province.

_Allanblackia floribunda_. Orogbo erin (Yoruba); Izeni or Iyockan (Benin); Atta (Efik); Egba (Ibo, Owerri).

_Distribution._—It is found in the evergreen forests of the Jebu Ode,
Benin, Owerri (?) and Calabar (?) provinces of Nigeria. This tree
usually grows on less moist soil and further away from water than _P.
butyraceæ_, though it likes a moist and deep soil.

_Chief Characteristics._—The long, hard, brown, enlarged sausage-
shaped fruit hanging on a stalk shows, when cut, large seeds scattered
in white pulp, and is thus different in this respect to Pentadesma,
which has dark-brown seeds embedded in a soft, yellowish pulp. The
slash is yellow, but only exudes a little yellow latex at first. The
branches are not so verticillate in form as Pentadesma, but are more
pendulous, especially when the tree is in fruit. They also are further
apart and give the crown a more open appearance. The fruit is three
times the length and the diameter rather more than that of _P.
butyraceæ_.

_Timber._—The sapwood is whitish-yellow and the heartwood yellowish-
red and moderately hard. It is not attacked by white ants; it does not
split easily, but planes with a smooth surface. It is a medium-sized
tree, reaching a height of about 80 feet, with a bole length of 20
feet and a girth of 8 feet.

_Silvicultural Qualities._—It is a shade-bearer and grows
comparatively slowly. Natural reproduction is chiefly by seed, though
fine and succulent stump shoots appear when a tree is cut down.

The timber has not been exported nor has it been used locally; the
natives occasionally cut the bark for medicinal purposes, but
otherwise apparently have no use for the tree.

_Ochrocarpus Africanus?_ sp. of Allanblackia. African Mammee Apple, Mahogany (Calabar). Igoda (Benin); Ereruku, Edeng Edem (Calabar); Baulan Bolo (Degema, New Calabar); Okut and Otun (Oban, Ekoi).

_Distribution._—It is found in the Calabar, Owerri and Ogoja provinces
of Nigeria, occurring sparsely in the evergreen forests in several
localities, where it takes the place of Khaya, which is not prevalent
in such places.

_Chief Characteristics._—It is a large tree, with orange-coloured
bark, especially in young specimens, and a little scaly. In habit
otherwise rather like Mahogany, after which the timber has been named.
It is much harder and has little resin canals typical of the order. It
is not attacked by white ants. It reaches a height of 100 feet, with a
bole length of about 40 feet and a girth of 12 feet. The root spurns
are only slight. The large, elongated, spherical-shaped fruit, with
rough, pale orange-coloured rind, speckled brown in several places, is
most typical of this tree. Generally speaking, it could easily be
mistaken for Mahogany Entandrophragma by anyone not very familiar with
both species.

_Timber._—The sapwood is white, with a pinkish tint, and the heartwood
a dark red, with small medullary rays as well as very prominent resin-
like canals which, when dry, are filled with a yellow substance.

_Silvicultural Qualities._—It is a shade-bearer, but likes a certain
amount of overhead light in middle age. On the whole it is slow-
growing, except for a short period when the chief height-growth is put
on. A few stump shoots sprout when the tree is cut down, but the more
common form of reproduction is by seed.

_Utility._—It has not been felled for export, but the Public Works
Department felled and converted a good deal at the Etehetem sawmill,
and it was favourably reported on as a hard mahogany. It has
occasionally been used by the natives for making canoes.

_No botanical name_. Oshusi (Ibo, Owerri).

_Distribution._—It is found in the Owerri province of Nigeria. It is a
comparatively common tree in the evergreen swamp forest.

_Characteristics._—The timber is not over hard, but it reaches a
height of 100 feet and a girth of 8 feet. The bark is smooth.

_Silvicultural Qualities._—It is a shade-bearer and a comparatively
slow-growing tree. The most prevalent form of reproduction is by seed.

_Utility._—It has not been felled for export, but was used in the
construction of the Imo railway bridge as piles.

_Buronona_ (New Calabar).

This is a medium-sized tree of the Owerri province, and is found near
the Imo, not far from the railway bridge. Several piles of the
temporary bridge were made from the timber of this tree.

_Ochrocarpus sp.?_. Ebattan, Ehranezi (Benin); Buronona (New Calabar).

_Distribution._—It is found in the Owerri, Benin (?) and Ondo (?)
provinces of Nigeria.

_Chief Characteristics._—It is a very straight, thin-stemmed tree,
with several whorls of branches near the top of the tree, very much
compressed together. The flowers are red sprays, which look very
pretty at the beginning of the dry season. It occurs near the
freshwater swamps, comparatively close to the sea. In many places it
is almost gregarious in habit, more especially near Degema. It reaches
a height of 100 feet, and a girth of 6 feet, often with a bole length
of 50 feet.

_Timber._—The sapwood is white and the heartwood is light brown; both
appear to be equally durable. It is termite-resisting. It planes with
a smooth surface; the grain is very fine. A red latex exudes when it
is cut.

_Utility._—It is chiefly used for door and window frames, and does not
warp nor crack, even when put in green. It attains a large enough size
to be used as piles, some of which were used in the construction of
the temporary railway bridge at Imo. The natives do not use the wood,
and it has not been felled for export.

_Silvicultural Qualities._—It is a shade-bearer and a comparatively
slow-growing tree, though on less wet soils it seems to grow faster.
The more prevalent form of reproduction is by seed. Weak stool shoots
also come up after the tree is cut down. The foliage is dense and
persists for several years.

To face p. 364.

=Bixaceæ.=

_Bixa orellana_.

This tree grows well in the Olokemeji Arboretum. It is found up to a
height of 10 feet, and is cultivated for the sake of its seeds, which
yield the orange dye called “annatto.” The tree bears pods very
freely. Samples were sent to the Imperial Institute in 1906 and were
valued at about 5d. a pound.

=Flacourtiaceæ.=

_Smeathmannia pubescens_. Moyida (Yoruba).

It is a medium-sized shrub found in the Western Provinces.

_Soyauxia sp._ Ogohomeh, Oyohomeh (Benin).

This tree was found on the mountain slope above Ogabi in the Obudu
district. The fruit is edible.

_Soyauxia sp._ Aye (Yoruba); Owowe, Owawe (Benin).

It is found in the Ondo, Benin and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria, growing
at the edge of the evergreen forest. It is a medium-sized tree, with a
bole length of about 30 feet and a girth of 6 feet; on the whole, it
is of more slender build and habit than the Terminalia, to which it is
apparently closely allied. The flower is very small, white and
spherical, being only a quarter of an inch in size; it is most
frequently seen lying scattered about in patches on the path or
roadway, giving out a very sweet scent. The seeds are double winged,
like Bougainvillea. The leaf is smaller than that of the Terminalia
and the foliage generally less dense; the sapwood is white and
somewhat wide, the heartwood of a light-brown colour, and on the
border-line of being a hardwood. The wood is not very durable unless
under cover; it is not very common, though where it is found there are
a fair number of trees which would form a good supply of timber for
local purposes. The natives do not use this wood, as they say it is
liable to attacks by white ants.

_Oncoba dentata_ (Oliv.). Parisha (Yoruba).

It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. It is a small, shrub-
like tree, armed with moderately long thorns. It belongs to the
evergreen forest zone. The flowers are large, white and conspicuous.

_Oncoba glauca_ (Foster). Kakandika (Yoruba).

Found in the Olokemeji and Abeokuta provinces.

_Oncoba spinosa_ (Rich). Kakandika (Yoruba).

This is a small, shrub-like tree found in the Abeokuta province of
Nigeria. It is moderately common, and several hedges have been made
with it in the Olokemeji Arboretum. The most distinguishing feature of
this plant is the large, spherical-shaped white flowers. The petals
are large and conspicuous, with a mass of yellow stamens in the
centre. In habit it is not unlike the thorn; the ends of the twigs are
armed with a short spike.

It stands trimming pretty well. Each year it flowers fairly regularly,
so that it makes quite an ornamental plant. It bears green fruits with
a conspicuous bunch of the old sepals at the top. This fruit is rather
smaller than a tangerine orange, but quite spherical in shape, with a
hard, woody rind.

_Flacourtia Ramontchii_. Abeokuta Plum. Oshere (Yoruba).

It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve of the Abeokuta province of
Nigeria.

_Flacourtia flavescens_ (Kew). Niger Plum.

Found in the Western Provinces.

_Uses._—Edible plums, medicine and hedge plants.

_Homalium_, cf. _H. Africanum_ (Benth.). Atu or Abo Ako (Yoruba).

This is a hard-wooded tree of the Yoruba country, which is used to
some extent locally. It is also found in Benin.

Being a shade-bearing and soil-protecting tree, it is of value in the
forest, apart from the production of timber. It is a slow-growing tree
apparently.

=Lecythidaceæ.=

_Napoleona Whitfieldii_. Ito (? Yoruba); Uruhe (Benin).

It is doubtful if these are the correct native names for this species.

_Napoleona imperialis_. Speckle-fruited Napoleona. Boi Boi (Yoruba).

It is found near Ode district, Oban and Igbeshe, in the Ibadan and
Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.

It is a deciduous shrub with pretty white flowers, very shiny leaves,
which are alternate, and bears a spherical, orange-coloured fruit
(with a russet-like surface having white lenticels scattered nearly
all over it), which ripens in March at the Olokemeji Reserve.

This shrub protects and enriches the soil with its fall of leaves.
Considering the attractiveness of the flower and the fruit, it is
surprising that it has not more frequently been planted in gardens,
where it should be placed in a shady corner. It is slow-growing, and
does not need much light. It likes a moist, fairly deep good soil,
especially near a river bank.

_Native Use._—The stem is occasionally used for making hoe or axe
handles, for which it is suitable, as the wood is comparatively tough,
close-grained and hard. The knottiness of it is an advantage either
for the handle or for fixing the hoe or axe head.

_Napoleona Vogelii_ (Hook). Orokwa, Ogemme (Benin).

It is a common tree in the Calabar, Benin, Ibadan and Abeokuta
provinces of Nigeria.

_Chief Characteristics._—It is a medium-sized shrub-like tree, with
orange-shaped fruit, though not quite spherical, having small white
lenticels on the surface and roughness like a russet apple. It does
not attain a girth of more than 3 or 4 feet. It is usually found in
the mixed deciduous forests, though more often in clearings in the
forests; however, it stands a good deal of shade. The wood is
comparatively hard, but it does not reach much size. The tree protects
and enriches the soil with its fall of leaves, and serves a very
useful purpose as a shrub amongst the undergrowth of the forest. It
might be planted in gardens, where both the flower, which is large and
white, and the fruit would be admired. It usually bears a large number
of both. It is rather a slow-growing tree. The natives use the wood
for making matchet handles.

_Napoleona Owariensis_. Adere, Isiurem (Lagos).

Found in the Olokemeji Reserve.

=Rhizophoraceæ.=

_Weihea sp._ (Spreng). Odu (Yoruba).

This tree is found in tropical West Africa.

The flowers have an involucre of two bracteoles. The fruit is fleshy;
seeds with an aril.

_Weihea sp._, cf. _Africana_. Odu (Yoruba); Itobo (Ibibio); Munon (Efik).

This tree grows near Lagos.

_Rhizophora racemosa_. Red Mangrove or Salt Mangrove. Egba Ibadudu (Jeb. Yoruba); Ehrodo, Ibadudu (Benin); Odo (Jekri).

_Poga oleosa_. Inoi Nut, African Brazil Nut. Iku (Yoruba); Inoi (Benin); Inoye (Efik); Ikoi (Oban); Inoi (Ekoi); Ekom (Ibo Owerri); Imonon (New Calabar).

It is found in the Benin (?), Owerri, Calabar and Ogoja (?) provinces
of Nigeria, in the evergreen zone, both of the level and hill country.
On the whole, it is more prevalent as the eastward side of the country
is approached. In the forest its presence is usually indicated by the
heaps of broken shells left lying near the roots of neighbouring
trees, on the path or roadside. The reddish-brown interior and cross-
section of the inner covering of the shell is a most typical feature.
The nut itself is roughly spherical in shape, with a surface almost
evenly covered with little nodules, giving the nut very considerable
resiliency against cracking. It is nearly half an inch thick, and
inside there are two or three kernels. Each of these is a chocolate-
brown colour with thick (almost three thirty-seconds to one-eighth of
an inch) red-brown shell. Each is about ½ inch long and rather more
than ¼ inch thick. This thick shell quite spoils the flavour of the
nut, which is sweeter and contains more oil than the Brazil nut. It
can, however, be removed with a pen-knife. The trunk of the tree is
light-grey, with comparatively thin cortex. It reaches a girth of
about 12 feet and a bole length of about 60 feet. It usually forks at
about 50 or 60 feet from the ground, and this is one of the typical
features of the tree. The crown is rather open, with several main
limbs and comparatively few branches. Another place where it is
commonly seen, both in the Degema and Calabar districts, is in the old
farms, standing as isolated specimens, or standards overshadowing all
the secondary growth. It is one of the few trees that are preserved
when a fresh clearing is made for a farm. The fruit is the shape of a
large greengage, the fleshy part of which soon breaks away, leaving
the hard nut inside. The fleshy pericarp is about a quarter of an inch
in thickness.

The sapwood is white, tinged with pinkish stripes, and the heartwood
pinkish-red, with very wide and numerous medullary rays, which are
most numerous, and in fact more so than in any other tree, and are
very typical of this timber. The wood is soft, splits well, is of
somewhat open texture and rather fibrous grain. It planes up well with
a smooth surface, takes nails well, and saws well. It is liable to be
attacked by white ants. The sapwood is fairly narrow.

It is a moderately fast-growing, shade-bearing, soil-protecting and
soil-improving tree. Natural regeneration only appears to be slight,
chiefly owing to the fact, perhaps, that most of the nuts are gathered
and eaten by the natives. It is somewhat exacting with regard to soil.
It appears to like one that is somewhat rich, deep, moist and with
good drainage. In waterlogged areas it becomes stag-headed. No
plantations have been made of this tree.

The timber has not been exported, not has it been cut for local use.
It appears, however, to be worthy of a trial as a substitute for light
cedar or mahogany, especially from wind falls, which are not
infrequent owing to the way it is left standing in the forests.

_Native Use._—The nuts are used by the natives, and are considered
very valuable, in the most out-of-the-way parts of the forest, as a
source of food. They used to be sold in the Calabar market 250 for 3d.
Further notes as to the oil-bearing properties of this nut will be
found in the section dealing with the oil seeds and nuts.

=Combretaceæ.=

_Terminalia sp._ Yellow Terminalia, Black-bark Terminalia. Idigbo, Opepe, Epepe (Yoruba); Egoyn nebbi, Egoyn nikwi, Egoyn lukan (Benin).

According to the Yorubas this is the Idi of the forest.

_Distribution._—It is found in the Ondo and Benin provinces of
Nigeria.

_Chief Characteristics._—It has a slightly fissured bark, increasing
in age, light-brown in colour in youth, but darkening with age, almost
appearing black in the distance, rather forming a criss-cross pattern.
It flowers in May with small spikes or thin, stiff racemes, each with
little yellow balls of staminate flowers. It has a compressed crown of
two or three whorls of branches, but not so typical as that of _T.
scutifera_. It is, however, much more widespreading, chiefly due to
the fact that the tree on the whole is shorter and stouter than _T.
scutifera_. The trunk is much more cylindrical, and the root spurns
are very slight, and not buttress-shaped as in _T. scutifera_. The
contrast between the light-green foliage and the dark-coloured bole is
so great that the tree is quite unmistakable in this respect. The only
one at all similar in this is False Shea Butter, _Mimusops Djave_, but
even the trunk of this one appears lighter than the former. The slash
is dark-brown, almost black, on the outer edge and yellow on the
inside. The fruit is not unlike a large hazelnut, but the shuck is of
looser build, and the interior seed can be more easily seen than in
the case of the nut.

The sapwood is a faint yellow colour and the heartwood a good yellow.
It is of the hardness of an ordinary softwood, with a straight, even
grain and somewhat open pores. It planes well, takes nails, splits
very easily and saws well. For outside work it is not durable unless
very thoroughly dried. For interior fittings it is very durable. It is
liable to attacks by termites outside. It seasons well, with only a
small amount of shrinkage and slight liability to warping.

It is a fast-growing, slightly shade-bearing tree, with strong soil-
protecting and soil-improving qualities. Natural regeneration appears
to be fair. It sprouts from the stump, but is not very strong. It
likes a good soil, with fair drainage but a good deal of moisture. It
will stand a certain amount of flooding. It is occasionally almost
gregarious. No plantations have been made with this tree. It reaches a
girth of over 14 feet and a bole length of about 70 feet.

The timber has not been cut for export, but occasionally it has been
sawn up for planks for local use. It deserves, however, a further
trial for export as a floor-board and for local use for a similar
purpose. There are comparatively large supplies, and the dimensions of
the tree are such that large planks and boards could be cut out of it.

_Native Use._—The tree is occasionally felled for making canoes, but
it is not taken unless there is a shortage of other harder kinds.

_Terminalia sp._ Orange-barked Terminalia. Ayo, Aiyo (Yoruba); Ayo, Ulazo (Benin).

_Distribution._—Ibadan and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria. It is one of
the typical trees of the mixed deciduous forest zone, though it
appears to be confined to certain localities, such as the Olokemeji
Forest Reserve and other places.

_Chief Characteristics._—Moderately thick bark, rather reminding one
of Triplochiton, but with a certain amount of roughness and slight
fissures. The crown is very pointedly oval and long, the leaves
appearing only slightly terminal and not typically so. The branches
tend to flatten out in old age, though they are slightly pendulous at
the tips. The bole reaches a girth of about 10 feet and a height of 50
feet. The light patchy, orange-coloured bark is a most typical feature
of this tree. Satinwood is the only one at all similar in this
respect, but it is much smoother.

_Timber._—White, with a faint yellow tint; the pores are much shorter
than those of the other Terminalias, such as _T. scutifera_ and
_Togoensis_. The grain on the whole is finer and of closer texture.
The timber is somewhat harder than either _T. scutifera_ or _T. sp._,
but not so hard as that of _T. Togoensis_. It planes well, takes
nails, saws easily, but does not split so well. It is attacked by
termites, but is durable for interior work. It is somewhat more
brittle than _T. sp._

It is a moderately rapid growing, light-demanding tree, with soil-
protecting and soil-improving qualities. Natural regeneration does not
appear to be good. It sprouts, but poorly from the stump, and if at
all shaded dies away. It likes a moderately good soil, with a fair
amount of moisture and depth.

The timber has not been cut for export, and only occasionally has it
been felled for cutting into planks for local use. It deserves,
however, a trial as a local flooring board. The available quantities
so far discovered are not large enough to justify its trial as an
export wood.

_Utility._—The wood is used for planks and for canoes. It is likely to
furnish timber for the home markets.

_Local Use._—It has been used for making canoes, and also for sawing
up into planks for house-building.

_Terminalia scutifera_. Shingle Wood. Afara (Yoruba); Oaha Egoyn, Egoyn nufwa (Benin).

It is a common tree in the Calabar, Ogoja, Owerri, Warri, Benin, Ondo
and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.

The chief characteristics of this tree are the thin and far up-
reaching root flanges and its thin, grey-coloured bark. It attains a
height of about 200 feet and a girth of about 16 feet. The bole length
often exceeds 100 feet. The crown is compressed and flat, with few
main branches. It is usually found near water.

The timber is light-brown to almost yellowish-white, with darker
streaks. The sapwood is almost white, but when dry is barely
distinguishable from the heartwood, though when freshly cut the
heartwood appears drier, and thus shows up against the damper sapwood.
The wood is soft and planes easily, though not always giving a smooth
surface. It is also easy to saw or cut with a chisel and splits well.
It is attacked by termites.

On the whole the tree is a light-lover, and even the young self-sown
seedlings only grow in comparatively open places near rivers, where
there is no shade directly over them, though there may be trees to one
side or the other. It is one of the typical trees of the evergreen and
mixed deciduous zone, growing always on damp and deep soil. Natural
reproduction by seed is good. Stool shoots grow, but do not persist
for a great length of time. It often forms small pure groups in the
secondary forest, and in suitable localities tends to be more
prevalent in the secondary than in the primeval forest.

In Nigeria it has been used as planks, but is not considered very
good. On the Gold Coast it has been used for shingles.

The natives occasionally use the tree for making canoes, also for
bowls, plates, and native doors in the Benin country, but owing to its
softness it is not considered of much account.

In figure No. 108 there is a picture of a very large specimen found in
the Ikrigon Forest Reserve.

_Terminalia Togoensis_. Dry-zone Terminalia. Idi, Idi Odan (Yoruba).

Found in the Oyo, Benin and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. It is a very
common tree, with slight foliage and small stem, which is usually
forked about 10 feet from the ground. The slash is yellow and almost
dry, which is most typical of the tree.

The wood is soft, though harder than most of the other Terminalias. It
works easily, but does not split well. The sapwood is white and the
heartwood of a pale yellow colour. The bark is rough and widely
fissured. Natural regeneration by seed does not appear to be good,
though stump shoots appear when the tree is cut down. It stands a
considerable amount of fire, but it is a light-loving tree.

The local people find the stem useful for house-building posts, as it
is comparatively durable and forked in shape.

_Terminalia avicennioides_.

It was stated it was found in the Calabar province.

_Terminalia Brownii_. Inya joko (Yoruba).

Found in the Abeokuta province.

_Combretum racemosum_. Ogan pupa (Yoruba); Akoso, Orsorsor (Benin).

Found in Olokemeji and Benin. Climbing shrub with red flowers and
white bracts.

_Combretum Lawsonianum_. Ome (Benin).

It has red flowers and is found at Agege.

_Combretum mucronatum_. Okan pupa (Yoruba).

It is found in the Mamu Forest.

_Combretum Zenkeri_. Ogan (Yoruba).

It is found in the Yoruba country.

_Combretum micranthum_. Okan (Yoruba).

It is found in the Yoruba country.

_Combretum glutinosum_.

_Combretum paucinervium_.

_Combretum Hartmannium_.

These are climbing Combretums found in the Yoruba country.

_Anogeissus leiocarpus_ (G. and P.). Yoruba Chew-stick. Ayin (Yoruba).

_Distribution._—It is found in the Oyo and Abeokuta provinces of
Nigeria.

_Chief Characteristics._—This tree reaches a height of about 70 feet
in favourable localities and a girth of 9 feet. With its birch-like
foliage and the drooping and sweeping of the pendulous branches in old
age, it is certainly the “Lady” of the African “open woods.” The
little spherical fruits cover the ground in the early part of the dry
season. The comparatively smooth bole, giving way to small scales of
light-brown bark as the tree gets older, is a typical feature. It is
often forked, especially low down. The bole is thin and slender in
build, with upward tending branches, also very slender in build, but
dark in colour. A blackish gum exudes when it is cut. The slash is
yellow before the gum runs out.

_Timber._—The sapwood is yellowish-white and the heartwood dark-brown
to almost black in some specimens. It is hard, durable and termite-
proof. It does not plane nor split well, takes nails with difficulty,
but saws fairly easily.

_Silvicultural Qualities._—It is a light-loving species, though in its
youth it will stand a little shade. It is one of the first trees to
appear on disused land, so long as the soil is good. Its foliage is a
little acid, as it kills all grass, even Ekon, and for this purpose is
invaluable as a tree for admixture with more valuable species. It is
somewhat exacting as to soil.

Once it gets started after being planted, or as a self-sown seedling
on good soil, it is a rapid-growing tree, which is only hindered in
its growth by the annually recurring grass-fires. Wherever it is
protected it develops into a straight-boled, large tree. The branches
are very persistent, so that close planting is most necessary. Several
plantations have been made with this tree.

_Utility._—The tree is burnt for its ashes for fixing native dyes; the
roots are used for chewing-sticks, and the bark is used medicinally by
the natives.

It yields a good firewood which gives great heat. The smaller poles
make very useful hut-building timber, as it is so often forked.

It should find a place as an avenue tree, owing to the delicate green,
the drooping nature of its foliage, and the moderate amount of shade
cast on the road.

The timber has not been tried for export, but with its dark black and
sometimes streaky coloration it is worthy of a trial. Locally it has
occasionally been cut for planks and for house-building. It is not
liked because it is so hard. The sapwood is rather wide. The timber is
sometimes rather knotty, especially containing dry knots. It is
sometimes attacked by a large borer, making large holes in it.

_Laguncularia racemosa_. White Mangrove or White Button.

This species is found growing in the swamp regions, also on the coast.
It yields timber, tanning, dyeing materials and medicaments.

=Myrtaceæ.=

_Eugenia Owariensis_ (Beauv.). West African Allspice. Adere (Yoruba).

It is a common tree of the Olokemeji Reserve and the Abeokuta and Oyo
provinces.

With its comparatively short bole (about 8 feet) and wide, almost
spherically-shaped crown, it is one of the largest and most
conspicuous of the dry-zone trees. The tree attracts the pigeons, but
not so much as the wild fig. The flowers are very minute and
insignificant. The fruit is very small and poor.

Reaching only a girth of about 4 feet, it does not yield very large
timber. Although moderately hard and durable, it has not yet found a
place in the local market. It is doubtful if it is termite-proof. It
might be used for making boxes or for small articles of furniture in
localities where wood is scarce.

It is a comparatively slow-growing tree, almost soil-improving, and of
a light-loving nature.

Owing to its comparatively dense foliage partially shading the ground
and thus killing the grass, it is a distinctly helpful species in the
protection from fire of a dry-zone forest.

Natural reproduction by seed is only moderate, but stump shoots are
strong, and it appears that root suckers also come up in certain
places.

_Eugenia Owariensis_. Isinren (Yoruba).

This tree is found in the dry-zone forests—a spreading tree which
flowers in February.

It yields timber, edible fruits and medicaments.

=Melastomaceæ.=

_Memecylon sp._, nr. _Barterii_.

It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve in the Abeokuta province of
Nigeria.

=Araliaceæ.=

_Cussonia Nigerica_ (Hutch.). Elephant Sugar-cane. Sigo (Yoruba).

This is an evenly and rather deeply fissured small tree of the dry-
zone forest, which has in the main only a great tuft of large digitate
leaves at the top of the stem. It is occasionally branched, when it
gives an appearance of bearing all the leaves at the end of the stem.
It is fairly common in the Olokemeji Forest Reserve of the Abeokuta
province. This tree is one of the few digitate-leaved trees of the dry
zone, and is certainly one with the largest; it is a fire-resisting
tree. The natives occasionally use the stem for house and verandah
posts.

=Umbelliferæ.=

_Heptapleura Mannii_. Found in the Oban Reserve.

=Sapotaceæ.=

_Mimusops multinervis_. Emido or Sleeper Wood. Ako Emido (Yoruba); Aganokwi (Benin).

This species is found in the Abeokuta and Oyo provinces of Nigeria; it
is most common, and, in fact, forms almost half the crop in the belt
of forest just on the south side of the railway four to six miles east
and west of Olokemeji Station. The most distinguishing feature of this
tree is the grey, thick, deeply-fissured bark. With its comparatively
short bole and stout, crooked branches, it is not unlike an oak. It
reaches a height of about 80 feet and a girth of about 15 feet. The
root spurns are practically non-existent. The trunk tapers off quite
abruptly after each series of branches. The crown is rather long and
sometimes almost pear-shaped. The foliage is dense, and, for the size
of the tree, the leaves are small. The flowers are small and white and
conspicuous. The fruit is a small round nut, about half an inch in
diameter. The leaves are a very dark green colour, but on the upper
surface are often shiny.

The sapwood is white and, for the size of the tree, comparatively
narrow. The heartwood is a deep red colour, which it retains even
after the wood is dry. In sections from older trees it exhibits
isolated white streaks, scattered here and there through the
heartwood. This is made of a small mineral deposit which is closely
allied to apatite. It is one of the hardest of the African woods and
also the most durable; it splits most satisfactorily; it saws very
cleanly, planes well, but owing to its extreme hardness takes nails
with difficulty. It is termite-proof. It is just as durable in, as out
of the ground. It burns with a fierce heat and, in fact, makes the
hottest fire of any of the West African woods. The grain is very
close, though sometimes it shows some figure. The knots in the wood
produce some pretty “curl” effects.

The tree is a shade-bearing, soil-improving species of the mixed
deciduous forest. It is very slow-growing, often not showing a greater
height-growth than 6 inches per year. In its youth the branches grow
more or less in whorls of three or four branches; these branches are
very persistent. Natural generation good; it demands a good soil, but
will stand a great deal of moisture, not to say flooding of the area
for several months of the year. It flowers in February; the roots are
comparatively deep-growing and there is a distinct tap-root. Some
plantations have been made with this tree. It has been tried as a
species to mix with ebony, and for this it seems suitable. In similar
localities this species and ebony are often found.

Locally it is used as a house-building wood and occasionally for
firewood. The timber has been cut up into sleepers and found to be
most durable. When it was used in an unseasoned state, and in very dry
territory, it was found to split—but this was scarcely a fair test of
the wood. It has also been used as joists and for the framework of
buildings, for which purposes it has proved very useful. Local
carpenters have complained about its hardness, but usually the tools
used have not been of such high quality necessary to give the best
results when working on this wood.

The timber has not been used for export, but it deserves a trial,
especially for railway sleepers.

To face p. 376.

_Mimusops Djave_. African Pearwood, False Shea Butter Nut, Cross River Nut. Aganokwi No. I. (Benin), Nyam (Efik).

It is found in the Benin, Owerri, Calabar and Ogoja provinces of
Nigeria. It is also known as Cherry Mahogany. It is a moderately
common tree in the evergreen forest zone, up to the end of the mixed
deciduous forest zone. It is one of the giant forest trees, attaining
a girth of over 30 feet and a height of over 200 feet; its bole is one
of the straightest of African trees, the trunk often reaching over 100
feet without a branch. The crown is flattish and almost symmetrical in
its roundness; it is formed with three or four main limbs spreading
out at almost right angles to the trunk. The foliage is heavy and the
sword-shaped leaves almost appear as though they were digitate,
looking at them from the base of the tree. From a short distance the
trunk looks almost black, but on closer inspection the bark is seen to
be deeply fissured in a comparatively even lattice-work fashion. The
slash is white and a thick white latex exudes. The root spurns are
only slight, except in old age; otherwise the bole is one of the most
cylindrical of African trees. (In illustration No. 100 a tree of about
8 feet in girth shows the very straight and even thickness of the
bole.) The fruit falls to the ground about the beginning of November,
and crushes on contact with the ground, showing the yellow floury pulp
inside. The pulp has an extremely dry, sweet, almost nauseating taste
and is inclined to stick in the throat. This huge fruit, the size of a
man’s fist, is almost like a huge plum, with rough opaque surface and
almost spherical in shape; inside, embedded in the pulp, are two,
three or four lobed nuts, smooth and shiny on the more rounded face
and rough on the other; in some respects they are roughly kidney-
shaped when looked at sideways. The flowers are white and small; the
tree loses its leaves for three or four days, when fresh ones come out
again.

The sapwood is white and the heartwood of a rich red colour, often
showing figured rosy grain; it is very hard, heavy and very durable,
and is sometimes cross-grained, though usually the texture is fine and
planes up with a smooth surface; it saws well, but is too hard to take
nails, except in very thin wood. The sapwood is usually only two or
three inches wide; the heartwood forms comparatively early in the life
of the tree. On the whole, this tree has a more open grain than the
other Mimusops.

Although the tree can stand a little shade in its youth, it is really
a light-loving species: after the first year the height-growth rapidly
increases when trees standing in a plantation have plenty of light. In
illustration No. 93 some trees only twelve years old show how rapidly
they develop under suitable conditions. None of these trees have yet
come into the nut-bearing stage, but it appears that in favourable
localities the trees will bear fruit between the fifteenth and
twentieth year.

It is a soil protecting and improving tree—in fact, the thick leaves
form some of the finest soil found in the forest. Natural regeneration
is not usually very good, because the seedlings have little or no
light, growing as they do from seeds which have fallen under the
parent tree. Duika and various other animals spread the seeds in old
farms where the trees have a chance of growing up. The timber has
occasionally been shipped to Europe and has been sold at Hamburg as
pearwood at 6d. per superficial foot, but the more rosy and figured
wood has also found a sale in Liverpool, as it sometimes looks almost
like a pinkish mahogany; it is, however, by no means well known, and
further trials with the wood should certainly be made. Small
consignments of the nuts have been exported from the Cross River and
sold in Liverpool as a substitute for Shea nuts; they are found to be
of a similar nature and of similar value for making an edible oil. The
original cost was rather high, so that the nuts did not yield a profit
on the transaction; however, with greater quantities being brought the
cost should not be so high, and also, since this first experiment was
made, the price of all oil nuts has risen enormously, so that at the
present time there is an ample margin between the cost of production
and the selling price. In the Cameroons the Balong natives dry the
nuts, which they split open in two pieces, pick off the thin shell and
boil out the thick buttery-like substance, which is used for cooking.

On our tour through their country we also tried it in place of lard,
and found it quite suitable and quite pleasant to the taste and only
about half the cost. In Nigeria, only the Oban people apparently know
anything about making this butter from the nuts; in other parts it is
quite unknown. The tree is not felled, but, on account of its size and
all-inspiring form, is considered “Ju-ju”; pieces of the bark are
chipped off and used as medicine to increase a person’s strength.

By the way, the constant cutting away of the bark at the base of the
tree and the continual struggle of the tree to overgrow these wounds
causes the grain to grow quite unevenly and wavering, thus forming
figured wood.

_Mimusops lacera_. Benin Pearwood. Aganokwi (Benin).

In 1906 samples of this timber were sold in the Liverpool market as
mahogany of a good, rich colour. It is found in the swamps near the
Osse and Cross Rivers.

_Dumoria Heckeli_ (A. Chev.). Oban Mahogany.

It is found in Tropical West Africa. It yields a fair timber. An
immense tree of the Oban Reserve, similar to _Mimusops Djave_.

_Omphalocarpum procerum_. Ikassa (Benin), Apassa, Ukpassa (Efik).

It is found in the Calabar, Benin and Ondo provinces of Nigeria.

It is a common tree of the evergreen forest. It reaches a height of 60
feet with a girth of 28 feet. The bole is short and the crown long,
but narrow. The huge, flatly spherically-shaped fruits, quite 9 inches
in diameter and 6 inches thick, are most characteristic of the tree.
These protrude just from the trunk or heavy branches with little or no
stalk. The depression in them, top and bottom, is quite an inch deep.
There are about sixty seeds inside, more like nuts. The leaf is large.

The sapwood is white and heartwood is brown-red. It is very hard.

It grows slowly and stands the shade. The seeds germinate well. It
does not sprout from the stump nor do root shoots appear. Elephants
and other animals, porcupines especially, eat the fruit.

The seeds are used in playing Ikbo, a Benin game. The seeds also are
used, tied in front of Apata sticks, for making a musical instrument,
or tied to the ankles of small boys to make a noise like a rattle when
they start to walk.

_Butyrospermum Parkii_. Shea Butter Tree, Dry-zone Oak. Emi-emi or Emi- gidi (Yoruba).

This is one of the most prevalent trees of the Oyo province of the
Southern Provinces of Nigeria and of the Borgu, Niger and Nassarawa
provinces of the Northern Provinces of Nigeria. In places it is almost
gregarious, but it is most commonly found in mixture with the Dwarf
Red Ironwood, _Lophira alata_. In appearance it is most like a gnarled
old oak, except that the base is often burnt and partially hollow. It
is a large tree, reaching a height of about 40 feet and a girth of
over 10 feet. The root spurns are comparatively short and rounded; the
bole is short, attaining a length of up to 25 feet; the crown is
almost spherical, but rather inclined to be broken up by three or four
main branches; these are very thick in comparison to the size of the
tree, but not so much in proportion as in the case of the Baobab. The
bark is grey and very deeply fissured, more or less in criss-cross
fashion, and even with deeper and wider fissures than that of the oak.
The slash is white, and a small amount of thick white latex exudes
very slowly from the cut. In the case of the Dwarf Ironwood scarcely
any ordinary sap exudes and no latex. The leaves are about 10 inches
long, a very dark green and shiny, and not unlike the hart’s-tongue
fern, but somewhat broader at the end; the greenness of the leaves,
their shininess, and the greater thickness distinguish them from those
of the Dwarf Red Ironwood. The under surface of the leaf is whitish,
sometimes almost grey; the flowers are white and come out in December;
the fruit is like a small green plum and ripens in May. The leaves
persist over one season. The green pericarp covering the nut can be
eaten and is not unpleasant to the taste. The nut itself is not unlike
a chestnut in its being brown and shiny; the shape, however, is more
oval, with one comparatively sharp ridge.

The sapwood is white and comparatively wide; the heartwood is a rich
dark-red colour; it is very hard and durable; it is termite-proof; it
splits very badly, does not take nails well; it is hard to plane and
is sawn none too easily. It does not warp or crack to any extent while
it is seasoning under proper conditions; it burns with great heat, but
rather less than in the case of Emido.

It is a rather slow-growing tree, with soil-protecting and soil-
improving qualities; as a light-loving species takes up a good deal of
space. Natural regeneration appears to be poor, and may be due to the
fact that the flowers appear, or before the young fruit has only just
set, as the annual grass-fires run through the open deciduous forests
where this tree is found. On the other hand, root suckers grow in
great profusion. It also sprouts well from the stump. It is one of the
most fire-resisting trees, and the thick bark no doubt protects it
from its worst ravages. It may be considered one of the most typical
trees of the drier parts of the open deciduous forests. A few sample
plots have been tried with this tree, but it does not stand
transplanting at all well. Rodents such as the cut-grass (ground pig)
are very fond of the nuts, and no doubt destroy a great number whilst
they are germinating. Fire-protecting root suckers and other young
trees have thus far proved the most effective method of increasing the
number of mature trees. It does not appear to be very exacting as to
soil, but no doubt the growth is best on moist alluvial flats so long
as they are well drained.

Locally the most valuable part of the tree is the nut, from which the
Shea butter is boiled out after three days; it is a general article of
diet instead of palm oil, in those districts where the latter is hard
to obtain. Locally, also, the largest trees are cut down and made into
mortars for beating food; these fetch a price of 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d.
apiece; they are considered not only the most suitable, but also the
most durable, except those made of the wood of the Oil Bean
(_Pentaclethra macrophylla_). In other places it is used as a house-
building timber.

As far as Europeans are concerned, the chief value of the tree lies in
its nuts, which are either exported quite unprepared or in the form of
the butter as the natives make it, in large elliptical-shaped sausages
about 2 feet long and 9 inches in diameter. For these purposes it has
become a regular article of commerce, and only lack of suitable means
of transport prevents much greater quantities being collected and
exported to the European markets. In Europe its most suitable use is
said to be as a medium or inside substance of chocolate creams. The
butter itself has a most peculiar and rather nauseating flavour, which
is removed on its being refined and purified. The timber has not been
tried for export.

_Chrysophyllum sp.?_. Round Star Apple. A species of Star Apple. Agoma (Benin).

The fruit is quite spherical and supposed to be larger than _C.
Africanum_. It is somewhat similar to _C. Kainato_. The natives
squeeze the fruit in order to eat it.

_Chrysophyllum Africanum_. African Star Apple or Edible Star Apple. Osangbalumo (Yoruba); Otien (Benin).

It is found in the Abeokuta, Ondo, Benin, Warri, Owerri, and Calabar
provinces of Nigeria. It is a medium-sized tree, often found growing
at the roadside at the edge of the villages or as an avenue leading up
to them.

The most characteristic feature of this tree is the silvery underside
of the leaf, which is formed by minute white hairs. In the fruiting
season, another characteristic is the golden-coloured, pointedly pear-
shaped fruit, which bursts on falling to the ground. A white latex
exudes from the fruit; this latex is sucked out and is tartly sweet to
the taste. Inside the fruit are five thin, elliptic-shaped seeds;
these are brown and very shiny. Their position inside the fruit
probably gave rise to the English name.

The wood is white and soft; it cuts easily and planes well, but does
not split well. The grain of the timber is fine and the texture
smooth. It is a moderately fast growing tree and the wood is not
durable. The slash is white, and the tree exudes a white latex when
cut; the foliage is very dense, and the dark upper surface of the
leaves is a great contrast to the underside. It is a soil-protecting
and soil-improving tree. The timber has not been exported to Europe.
It is occasionally used by the natives for making “Ju-jus” such as the
devil.

_Chrysophyllum sp._ Monkey Star Apple or Monkey Otien. Osang Palambi, Osang Edan (Yoruba); Ekuso (?), Ekpuro, Otiemmie (Benin).

This is a moderately prevalent tree in the Calabar, Ogoja, Benin, Ondo
and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria.

It is a medium-sized tree with a small leaf. It attains a girth of
about 8 feet. The golden-brown of the underside of the leaves is most
typical of this tree and makes it easily distinguished from
_Chrysophyllum Africanum_; in fact, in passing through the forest this
is one of the few trees having brown tomentose hairs on the underside
of the leaf. The crown is broad and flat and heavy. The bole is not
too long and is covered with a smooth light-brown-coloured bark.

The Benin native name means that it is the Monkey Otien, that is to
say, not the one that men may eat. It is usually found in the
evergreen forest.

The timber is white, light and soft, and is attacked by termites. It
has not so far been cut for export or local use.

_Native Use._—The fruit is sometimes eaten by the Benins.

_Chrysophyllum albidum_ (Don.). White Star Apple. Osum Agbalumo (Yoruba).

This is one of the Star Apples of the Yoruba Forest, where it is found
chiefly in the Abeokuta province. It is not very prevalent. The fruit
is not so esteemed by the natives as that of Osangbalumo. The bole is
somewhat straighter and less branched than that of _C. Africanum_. The
wood is white and soft; the stem is not absolutely round, being
somewhat fluted at the base, with narrow and thin spurs which extend 4
to 6 feet up the stem. The natives occasionally use the wood for
household utensils. It has not been cut for export.

_Chrysophyllum Welwitchii_.

This so-called Forcados Star Apple was found in the forest just behind
the station of Forcados. It is not a very common tree.

_Malacantha sp. nov._ Akala (Yoruba).

It is found in the Olokemeji Reserve and neighbouring parts of the
Abeokuta and Ibadan provinces. In many places it is very prevalent,
though it does not grow actually gregariously. It reaches up to a
medium size. The bole does not exceed a length of much over 15 feet
and a girth of 5 feet. With its four narrow, somewhat long (up to 4
feet) buttress root spurns, the base of the stem forms a rather
irregular shape. The bark is roughish and scales off to a slight
extent as the tree becomes older.

The leaves are inclined to be placed at the terminals of the shoots
and twigs, and the main veins are very prominent, giving the
impression that the leaf has only comparatively recently opened. The
leaf is a little rough to the touch, and rather dry and thickish. It
is a distinctly yellowish-green colour. The foliage is very sparse.