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THE KUKA OR BAOBAB TREE
Adansonia digitata Linn.

THE USEFUL TREES
OF
NORTHERN NIGERIA

BY

H. V. LELY
Assistant Conservator of Forests

NIGERIA.

Price 10/-

Published by the Crown Agents for the Colonies,
4, Millbank, London, S.W. 1.

1925.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

The text and plates of this volume have been prepared with the primary object of identification of the trees of the savannah forests of Northern Nigeria. The volume is, in no sense, a Flora, and no attempt has been made to include all the species found in the region under survey. Trees, being distributed over a large number of Families of the plant kingdom, are a small proportion of the total number of flowering plants, and their systematic arrangement would not, except in a few cases, be an aid to identification. Some 30 Families are represented by the 120 species included, in one of which there are as many as 36 species. The botanical names are arranged, therefore, in their alphabetical order so as to group certain genera and species whose similarity aids identification and to make the volume, in its index form, handier for reference.

The text is arranged in paragraphs, the first giving a general description of the form, height, girth, habitat, locality, &c., successive paragraphs describing in detail the bark and slash, thorns, wood, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds, with a few notes on uses where these are known. These paragraphs are in uniform order for rapid reference.

The text is supplemented by drawings of the flower, leaf, thorn, fruit and seed, sketched from the living specimens. Wherever possible the drawings are actual size to avoid calculations from enlarged or reduced figures, but a number have been enlarged to show structures, or reduced owing to their actual size. In several cases sections of various parts have been made to illustrate peculiarities of structure, a pocket lens being used for this purpose, though practically all the parts drawn are visible to the unaided eye.

The majority of the botanical names have been verified through the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

In describing the woods, few of which are in use and many of which are little likely to be of use, an attempt has been made to strike a path midway between the complete technical and botanical description employed with regard to timbers and a vague statement as to colour, quality, hardness and grain which helps little to distinguish the individual from others like it. Most of the woods are described from samples collected by the author and shaped by the Sokoto Arts and Crafts School. I am indebted for these, and for the facilities offered for observing their behaviour under tools, to Mr. W.E. Nicholson. The dry weight of seasoned wood is given in all cases and in this connection it may be noted that a number of species produce heavier wood in the north than they do in the south.

A table of flowering seasons has been appended, with a few notes on its significance.

A second appendix arranges the 120 species under their Families. The Genera Plantarum of Bentham and Hooker has been followed.

Finally, there is an index of Hausa names for reference to the plates and text, whose numbers are given in the index. A blank column has been left in the index for the benefit of those who may desire to collect either additional Hausa names or the nomenclature of other tribes. It is hoped that the scope of the volume will be enlarged thereby, so as to cover other parts of Nigeria where the trees are the same but the language different.

The botanical name, being universal, is always given preference. The native names, variable and unreliable as they often are, should be a secondary consideration, their importance resting in their being a means of communication with the native rather than a short cut to the botanical names. In a country where there are several native names for one tree or one native name for several distinct species, the knowledge gained is either limited to a small number of trees or applicable to a small area of country. But once examined and properly identified, no number of native names need confuse the real identity. In collecting native names a warning should be given against the ignorant or ready-to-please native, and independent corroboration is advisable before accepting a name as worth recording. At the same time it is a fact that names genuinely differ in quite small areas of country where the same language is spoken, and a knowledge of the botanical names or real familiarity with the tree species is essential to reliable work.

The identification of 120 species, though seemingly not a large number, is sufficient to afford a thorough familiarity with most of the savannah forests and makes further species, not included here, stand out all the more clearly from their no longer similar companions. Numbers or economic values of further species are sufficient justification for forwarding these for identification to Kew, if they cannot be named from their resemblance to known species or by means of a Flora.

In selecting the 120 species to be included in this volume, the author has had to exercise his own discretion. The collection has been made between 9° and 14° N., and those who know this area will find a great deal they require, while some, in the more northerly latitudes, will find little of importance that is not included. Others, however, will meet with unfortunate omissions, for the following reason: South of 11° N. certain species which more truly belong to the evergreen and intermediate forest zones have established themselves in considerable numbers by streams, in valleys and in pockets of rich soil with surroundings suited to their propagation. Either all or none must be included if this volume is to be representative of such regions, but since they are not truly savannah species their inclusion here is beyond the scope of this volume, which would have to be enlarged very considerably to cover even the forests in the Benue region and south of the Niger, where savannah abounds. All the species included here occur up to 11° N., and with five exceptions up to 12° N., while nearly all occur below 10° N. and many much further south.

A selection has been made in the case of some genera, e.g., Ficus, and Combretum, to familiarise the characters of trees which occur in large numbers and are typical of savannah forest. Some of these are of little importance beyond their occurrence in numbers over large stretches of country. The value of trees varies largely according to locality. Timber value is of little account in regions where it is inaccessible and unexploitable. Food, medicinal and other values take precedence where there is a large population demanding economic produce, and many species must be accounted valuable merely as a soil covering for the prevention of denudation, fixation of shifting surfaces, protection of new growth, grazing areas, precipitation of moisture, retention of conditions advantageous to agriculture or as a basis for the introduction of new, or the encouragement of existing valuable trees from the forestry standpoint. The advance of agriculture or the condensing of population intensifies these values by the destruction of the better types in favour of the poorer, and by the increased demand for the products of the better types. There are many instances of valuable products being obtained from forests which are not only some distance from habitations but whose soil is of a nature that precludes any possibility of supporting a population, since it will not produce crops. For example, Sclerocarya birrea (Danya) grows to large sizes in some parts of Sokoto Province where the soil is of an unworkable kind and where, over wide areas, there are no people. Yet this area is visited from all over the country and hundreds of trees are felled for the manufacture of mortars, trees in many cases suitable for two or three mortars being exploited for one only.

Though much has been written about the various types of savannah forests, a short account of them will not be superfluous here. First it may be pointed out that savannah forests vary so much in their composition and distribution that a survey is practically impossible, and if made, would have to be revised annually. Savannah is a particularly aggressive form of forest growth. Given the opportunity, it at once occupies more land and on its own ground the inferior types oust the superior wherever there is an opening. Any extensive area of cultivation, if abandoned and allowed to regenerate its tree growth, lets in secondary forests containing species which are less exacting as to soil and moisture conditions, and the depreciation of these conditions to the farming methods stops the competitive growth of the trees which formerly occupied the area. Where the area cleared is sufficiently small and the period short enough, the conditions are retained, and are able to close up the clearing with little loss by degeneration.

The fringing forests, belts of evergreen and deciduous trees on the banks of streams, are continually hard pressed by the broad wedges of open savannah between them. Fires take toll of them every year and cultivation not only pushes them down stream from the source but interrupts and cuts them up into islands exposed to threats of extinction.

Savannah is very topographical, and though, within broad limits, it can be divided into two main types, Tree and Bush savannah, the two are so distributed or blended that the differences are often unrecognisable and not able to be recorded in a survey.

Tree savannah is recognised as a tall type having a light, closed canopy, with a sprinkling of under-shrubs and a sparse growth of grass.

Bush savannah is a more open growth of less height, more spreading and lower branched form, with no canopy, and many stunted shrubs and a dense growth of grasses which are normally burnt out each year. There is every variation of this latter type from Combretum and Guiera scrub of barren soils or stony plateaux to the type which closely approaches that of Tree savannah.

The following are some of the recognised sub-types:—

Park Savannah.—This is a natural or artificial formation, the latter a product of agriculture, and is a two-storeyed growth composed of large type trees scattered about and dominating an undergrowth of smaller trees. Type species are Parkia filicoidea, Butyrospermum Parkii, Afzelia africana, Tamarindus indica, Acacia albida, etc. In the artificial product the large trees often owe their presence to their value, having been allowed to stand when the land was cleared for farms, the lower storey being a subsequent growth whose height depends on the period that has elapsed since the farms were abandoned. Natural Park Savannah is well represented by the superior size of Afzelia africana or Paradaniellia Oliveri over the lower storey of Terminalia and other species which cannot attain the height or proportions of these large trees.

Fringing Forests.—These are the narrow belts of forest along stream banks, and are either intrusion of evergreen and other trees from a lower latitude or the remnants of broader belts which have dwindled to a mere fringe. Typical species are Khaya senegalensis, Eugenia guineensis, Adina microcephala, Diospyros mespiliformis, etc., with a number of evergreen shrubs, typically Jasmines. The narrower the belt the lower branched are the trees.

“Kurimi.”—This is the formation found in depressions, where there may or may not be a stream, not necessarily flowing in the dry season. It is an enlarged edition of the fringing belt and more nearly represents the evergreen forest. Trees of large dimensions with long, clean boles are found amidst a luxuriant undergrowth of shrubs and younger trees, which if undisturbed will attain full maturity. “Kurimi” is the chief source of timber in the Northern Provinces and from it such type species as Khaya grandifolia, Chlorophora excelsa, Albizzia Brownei, A. fastigiata, Diospyros mespiliformis, and frequently Oil Palms are obtained.

“Fadamma.”—This is represented by the broad river valley perennially inundated, or a depression of varying size in flat country where water lies during the rains. Typical species are Mitragyne africana, Paradaniellia Oliveri and Borassus flabellifer, the Fan Palm. There is either a dense growth of grass or, in the case of temporary lakes, an area of cracked mud.

Pure forests are rare in savannah and Acacia Seyal and Isoberlinia species are type cases. Gregarious clumps of various sizes are, however, one of the commonest features and a large number of trees is concerned. Examples are the Acacias Seyal, arabica, albida, Senegal and campylacantha; Anogeissus, Isoberlinia, Bauhinia, Anona, Bombax, Terminalia, Combretum, Detarium, Gardenia, Parinarium, Pseudocedrela, Stereospermum, Ximenia, Uapaca, Boswellia, Monotes, etc.

Savannah also shows many examples of a dominant species, the presence of which are indications of the composition of a forest. The presence of this or that species sets a standard of comparative quality to an area by which it may be valued from various standpoints.

Over wide areas of savannah there are to be found many evidences of previous peoples in the shape of walled ruins, foundations of corn stores, grindstones and heaps of hand-picked stones indicative of cultivation. The dating of such remains gives the approximate age of the forest growth, and from this evidence it would appear that certain types of savannah deteriorate considerably with age and that farming will regenerate them to a certain extent. A comparison of 20-30 year old forest with the untouched older forest shows the former to be denser, more healthy and of straighter and more even growth, while the latter contains a large number of very old trees in a state of decay, with great open crowns, liable to be blown down by storms, their branches burned by fires and riddled with fungus. The new growth which is to take their place consists mostly of grasses, stunted shrubs and small trees of species which are incapable of forming a canopy. As mentioned above, provided the area farmed is not too large, the support given it by the surrounding forests is sufficient to ensure effective regeneration, otherwise a poorer type takes hold.

In conclusion a short account of the growth and characteristics of savannah forests is given. As would be expected, the trees, being subject throughout life to extremely hard conditions, counter with defensive measures for self-preservation. Most of them are prolific seeders and many have the habit of retaining their fruits or seeds on the tree for many months, sometimes right round to the next flowering season. Germination of seeds is a matter of chance when the tree is liable to ground fires from October to April or May. The life of a seedling, too, is precarious, since at the age of six months it may be subject to a devastating fire. In later life a fire, occurring in April, may, if the grass is high, burn the bark to ashes on the outside, destroying all fruits or seeds, killing the twigs and small branches and apparently destroying all life. Yet, a month later leaves will spring from all but the burnt tips, the tree losing a year’s height growth, but in a position to put on another year’s stem girth. Wounds on the trunk of a tree heal over with the formation of a hollow or rotten core. Trees 4-5 feet in girth have been felled and their stems found to consist of a mere shell two or three inches thick. The hollow is filled either with the workings of termites or the fermenting sap which is forced up from the ground level and will pour out of the stump. Savannah trees are adapted to overcome most of these adverse conditions. Heavy crops of fruit and seed, rapid ripening of seeds or fire-resisting fruit coats and various means of distribution are means to ensure germination. Deep or thickened tap roots of seedlings are put down in the first year so that though the seedling may be levelled by fire it will appear with renewed vigour soon after. A very short flowering period for the individual tree is a marked characteristic of many species. Fire has a quickening effect on the flowering and leaf bearing of trees to a marked degree. A grass fire in November may produce flowers and leaves in December on trees which, if unburnt, would not have flowered till February. As a rule, no tree will flower again if the first flowers have been burnt off, though it will, of course, bear leaves. One or two exceptions, very rare, have been noticed by the author, but these were due to the peculiarity that some trees exhibit of bearing flowers on some of their branches and not on others, so that the flowerless twigs were probably excited by the fire into bearing flowers after it. Leaves are readily replaced after attacks by locusts which generally take place early in the season. The end of the cold weather and first sign of heat is the spring of growth. Few trees have to wait for rain before they produce all the signs of maturity except the complete growth of their leaves. The bark of young seedlings, subject to fire, is very thick and corky and that of old trees is still more so, while the inner layers are fibrous and full of sap. Almost all species will coppice very well, many throwing up shoots up to 10 feet high in a season, others only a foot or two. Root shoots are also very common and a large number of what are apparently seedlings in the forest are root shoots. Most trees are anchored very firmly to the ground by lateral roots far longer than the height of the tree, a protection against storms. A tree which is completely ringed will often endeavour to join up the cut, meanwhile continuing its season’s foliage, while the smallest connection with the root is sufficient for it to live for many years. Most new leaves, as a protection against the sun, are reddish in colour, many a brilliant crimson, the green being produced through all gradations of colour from the red. Others are hairy, scaly or covered with a bloom, the protective coverings wearing off with maturity. The proportion of sapwood to hard is large and many species show marked differences in this proportion according to their locality, some showing no heartwood in the north where it is produced in the south. The weights of woods are often considerably heavier in the north than is the case for the same species in the south. There are some localities where wide areas are infested with termites to such an extent that, during the dry weather their whole surface, even to the tips of the twigs, is completely covered with the earth carried by the termites. Although there are exceptions, it is observed that apparent damage is negligible and that the old scales are removed from the bark, exposing the fresh surface.

The savannah species are, then, well equipped to withstand fire, drought, insects, wounds, storms, and damage by man and it can be imagined how readily they will supplant better types, since the harder the conditions the better adapted are the trees to meet them. The wide distribution of most species renders them more aggressive, and an individual species that will grow into a fine tree under the best conditions can still grow under the worst, though it may differ in form and feature so as to be hardly recognisable as the same species.

If, as it is supposed, savannah forests are depreciating of their own accord, some factor other than climate, which has not been demonstrated by records, must be at work. It is sufficient to point to the increase and spread of the population from the towns to the forests to find a reason for the displacement of good forest by lower grades. Shifting cultivation encourages a worse type each time it is practiced and late fires are very destructive.

For valuable assistance given in identifying the trees and shrubs in this volume, the author is indebted to Dr. A. W. Hill, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Mr. J. Hutchinson of the Herbarium. To Dr. J. M. Dalziel he is indebted for the “Hausa Botanical Vocabulary,” a valuable short-cut to further research. Other books referred to are the “Flora of Tropical Africa” and Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX., neither of which has been used other than for purposes of classification, it being the author’s aim to describe and illustrate the material as it appears to be, and not only as it actually is from the scientific point of view, avoiding botanical terms except where they have no alternatives.

H. V. L.

March, 1925.

ACACIA ALBIDA Delile.—Gawo. LEGUMINOSAE.

This is the largest of the Acacias in the north, and attains a height of over 60 feet with girths over 12 feet. It is particularly common in Sokoto, but even there is locally distributed, and gregarious clumps are commonly met with. It prefers dry, sandy soils. The form of the young and the old tree is very different. The former has a straight bole with acutely ascending branches forming a high, flat-topped crown very similar to that of Paradaniellia in shape. The bole may be clean for over 20 feet, but in young trees there are usually clusters of thorny twigs at no great height. As age increases the crown widens and the limbs get heavier and more spreading until the form is like that of Parkia. The bole is then quite clean and considerably thickened at the base, the roots spreading above ground and forming flanges, thick but of little height. Its distinguishing peculiarity is the habit of shedding its leaves at the approach of the rains and putting them forth at the first sign of the dry season, in September. It grows fast up to full height and then slowly.

The Bark is uniform dull grey. Long wide fissures and prominent ridges of hard bark ascend the bole and the bark appears as if it was stretched without being cast off. Light brown patches, quickly turning grey, are left by the falling scales. The slash is pale brown and fibrous.

The Thorns are in pairs, under ½ inch long and slightly recurved. They are pale brown with white bases. The young tree is armed all over, but as the tree ages the thorns leave the stem and finally the higher branches are free as if protection seemed to be unnecessary at a height.

The Wood.—The heartwood is a light, clean yellow. The sapwood is a dirty white. Frequently the whole wood is a dirty white or grey, but this is due to discolourations from mould and the wood should always be seasoned in dry air and not allowed to get wet. In transverse section the rings are indistinct and wide apart, the pores are small and evenly distributed, mostly in festoons with twin pores here and there, the soft tissue plainly seen as concentric lines with the hard tissue alternating. The rays are extremely fine, very regular and closely spaced and quite invisible to the naked eye. In vertical section there are faint bands of colour, with light reflecting flecks in tangential section. The wood is soft, very easy to work with all tools, seasons well if looked after, and finishes well under the plane. The weight is 35 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are bipinnate, 4 inches long with 6-7 pairs of pinnae bearing some 10-15 pairs of dusty, grey-green leaflets, covered with tiny hairs. The foliage in the mass appears bluish-green. It appears at the end of September and is susceptible to insect, caterpillar and locust.

The Flowers, from October to December, are in dense spikes 3-4 inches long, scented. The lower inch of the spike is flowerless. Several spikes are borne at the twig ends. Each flower has a 5-lobed cream-coloured calyx with pink centre, 40-50 stamens, and a short pistil with slightly clubbed stigma.

The Fruits are pods, at first green and sickle shaped, ripening to a bright orange and twisting into strange shapes. They are 4-6 inches long, 1 inch wide, concave on one side, convex on the other. They contain dark brown shiny seeds ⅜ inch long. The pods ripen in January and February and fall entire, rotting on the ground.

Uses.—Inferior canoes, of the stitched together type are made. The ripe pods are collected and fed to cattle, sheep and goats. The common brown kite nests frequently in its branches in March and April.

ACACIA ARABICA Willd.—Gabaruwa, Bagaruwa. LEGUMINOSAE.

This tree, the original source of gum-arabic, is very common and widely distributed throughout the north. It is very frequent round towns where it is utilised for the tannin properties of its pods. It varies largely in size from a small erect tree with umbrella crown to a large, heavy-stemmed tree with high rounded crown. It occurs gregariously in clumps or small forests, growing densely with the crowns meeting overhead. The seed germinates freely in low-lying country liable to submergence by rains or floods and the tree flourishes in such situations. It is just as partial to dry sandy soils where it abounds. With its almost black stem and branches, bluish-green foliage and graceful, symmetrical form, it is readily distinguished from other Acacia species. The average height is some 20-25 feet, but trees over 35 feet with girths up to 8 feet are not uncommon.

The Bark is almost black, or a dull dark grey, with long stringy ridges and narrow fissures. The dark colour extends to the branches and woody twigs, the latter covered with a soft pubescence. A clear yellow gum exudes from the slash which is a pale pink colour. The slash is red brown and blackish in streaks.

The Thorns are in pairs on the branches and twigs, some quite short and slightly curved, others, especially on the older wood being long, straight, slender and very sharp, with a grey colour and a slight backward slope. They are up to three inches in length and generally curved a little.

The Wood is a deep red-brown with almost purple bands. The sapwood is yellow. In transverse section the colour is darkest, the rings show as dark, ill-defined bands, the pores are small, few and scattered about between the fine straight rays which are visible against the dark ground of the hard tissue. There are many double and nested pores and zones with very few pores. Their contents nearly close them. In vertical section the grain is twisted, there are dark bands and the pores have black contents. The wood is very hard to saw and plane but the finish is hard and takes a high polish. The grain picks up badly in places. The transverse section will polish. The weight is 75-80 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are bipinnate, some 2-4 inches long with 5-6 or sometimes more pinnae bearing 15-20 pairs of leaflets with rounded tips, ³⁄₁₆ inch long. They are a dark bluish-green with grey bloom and soft texture.

The Fruits are jointed pods, straight or sickle-shaped, with slightly embossed seeds. The pod surface is wrinkled and covered densely with a whitish bloom. The seeds, some 10-12 in a pod, are round, flattened, shiny and brown, ⅜ inch in diameter. The pods, ripening towards the end of the year, fall to the ground entire. They are the “Sant Pods” of commerce.

Uses.—Hoe and axe handles are made from the wood which rarely reaches large enough dimensions to provide canoes as it does in other parts of Africa.

A concoction of the pods, crushed with water, is used for tanning. The leaves, boiled, with the addition of a small piece of Tamarind pod, are used as a cure for a disease of the eye which causes the lashes to fall out.

From the pods a black leather dye called “kuloko” is made.

ACACIA CAMPYLACANTHA Hochst.—Kumbar Shafo, Farichin Shafo, Karo, Karki. LEGUMINOSAE.

A tall tree somewhat resembling Acacia Sieberiana, especially in the case of full-grown trees of both species. A comparison of the bark, thorns and pods will readily distinguish one from the other. It is the tallest and most erect of the acacias in the north, reaching a height of 60 or more feet and girths of 4-6 feet when growing, as is very commonly the case, in dense clumps on stream banks, hillsides and on the sites of old towns. This last peculiar situation is sometimes explained locally by the fact that cattle eat the pods and deposit the undigested seeds on the site of a cattle camp in a deserted town. The bole is often 30 feet or more in length in these clumps, the crowns high and flat-topped and meeting overhead, forming a density of shade sufficient to kill all growth of grass on the floor. Old trees in the open have lower, wider-spreading and more open crowns, with shorter boles and bear a marked resemblance, at a distance, to A. Sieberiana. They commonly reach over 6 feet in girth.

The Bark is a pale yellowish colour, sometimes almost white, and is smooth, with small, regular, brownish scales which in old trees are grey and coarser. The slash is crimson with white streaks, very fibrous.

The Thorns, which are the readiest means of distinguishing this species from A. Sieberiana, are short, strong, recurved, and brown with a black point. They resemble falcons’ claws, from which they get their native name. They are in pairs at a widely obtuse angle.

The Wood is a very dark brown, with almost black streaks. The sapwood is white. In transverse section the rings show as irregular dark bands, the pores are small, few and connected by very thin lines of soft tissue, the rays are very fine, waved and unevenly spaced, invisible to the naked eye. In vertical section the rings show as bands of dark brown and almost black and there are lighter areas. The wood is hard, fibrous and bad to saw, not easy to plane, though the finished surface is smooth and will take a good polish. The long fibres pick up badly in places. The weight is 52 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are bipinnate, about 9-10 inches long with 20-25 pairs of leaflets which droop on each side of the mid-rib. The narrow leaflets are ³⁄₁₆ inch long, slightly curved and a dull, dark green.

The Flowers are in 4-5 inch spikes about ½ inch in diameter, densely crowded with cream-coloured scented flowers with numerous stamens. They appear from May-July in masses amongst the leaves.

The Fruits are pods, 4-5 inches long, ¾ inch wide, very flat, with the seeds slightly embossed. They are very numerous, tenacious and conspicuous on the trees from October onwards. The seeds, about six in a pod, are round, flat, shiny and dark brown, the same colour as the pods, and have strong germinating power.

Uses.—The wood is used for implement handles of all kinds. The branches are cut for making protective farm fences, and the pods are very much appreciated by cattle.

ACACIA DALZIELII Craib.—Gaba chara, Gwanno. LEGUMINOSAE.

This is a slender Acacia, locally very plentiful, especially in central and south-west Sokoto throughout some 1,000 square miles. It inhabits the open bush savannah of better quality where the rainfall is good and the soil contains some loam. In certain belts it is the predominant species. It is the largest leaved of all the Acacias in this zone and at a distance closely resembles Entada sudanica, though the leaflets are much smaller and more numerous and the flowers and thorns are both distinctive; in fact, the resemblance is one of form only. It grows 20-35 high with a girth up to 3 feet. Some trees are tall and slender with high crowns, others low-branched and spreading, but the foliage of all is very light and graceful.

The Bark is grey-brown with long fissures and large, shaggy scales which fall in long, irregular sections. This is largely due to fires which thicken and blacken the cork. The bark of the twigs is a silvery grey. The slash is a dull red, exposing the orange colour of the wood.

The Thorns are in pairs on the twigs, the leaves springing from between them. They vary considerably in size, ¼-¾ inch long, large and green on the new shoots and small and black on the wood, as a rule. They are slightly curved, and grooved along the inner side from the point where the leaf-stalk springs.

The Wood.—The heartwood is reddish with long, vertical streaks of black and brown in the pores. The sapwood is yellow with an orange grain. In transverse section the rings are indistinct, the pores are open and numerous, the soft tissue in wide and narrow festoons plainly visible to the unaided eye. The wood is hard, splits easily, is straight-grained, not easy to plane and weighs 65 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are 12-18 inches long, bipinnate with 20 or more pairs of pinnae bearing 50 or more pairs of long, narrow, pointed leaflets with parallel edges. Near the base on the dorsal side of the stalk is a prominent oval gland. They are a very bright, fresh green, and at first erect, finally spread and droop.

The Flowers are in large, erect panicles, 12-18 inches high and stiffly branched, standing prominently up on the ends of the shoots. They appear in the rains and are in bright yellow balls about ½ inch in diameter.

The Fruits are pods, 3-5 inches long, ½-¾ inch broad, flat, dark red-brown with a grey bloom and containing from 6-12 flat, oval, brown seeds. The pod is slightly embossed at the seeds and very persistent, numbers remaining on the tree till the following rains.

ACACIA NILOTICA Del.—Bagaruwa namiji. LEGUMINOSAE.

This species is nearly allied to Acacia arabica and can be at once distinguished from it by the smooth, jointed pods. In other respects it is very similar. The native distinguishes the two species by the fruits, the Acacia arabica with its large grey “sant pods” being known as the female, “ta mata” as against the name “namiji” of A. nilotica. As a rule this species is a much larger tree than A. arabica and two forms are commonly met with. The one, which is common in low-lying country liable to inundation, has a short bole and a large number of slender branches which ascend to a great height and spread out wide, forming a large semi-spherical crown almost reaching the ground. The other has a long bole with a girth of 10 feet or more and a high rounded crown. The latter type yields a large volume of timber.

The Bark is almost black with deep fissures and very long, ragged scales, which fall in large pieces. The slash is red-brown, with darker streaks.

The Thorns are in pairs, quite small near the twig tips and up to 2 inches or more in length elsewhere, straight or curved, more often the latter, white, slender and very strong and sharp.

The Wood is reddish-brown in colour, almost blood-colour in cross section, with marked rings. It is very close grained, the cross section being able to be planed quite smooth. The grain is irregular and picks up. The weight is about 75 lbs. per cubic foot. See A. arabica.

The Leaves are 2-3 inches long with some five pairs of pinnae bearing 10-20 pairs of leaflets, bluish-green with a grey pubescence.

The Flowers are very numerous from February onwards in clusters of 2-5 at the nodes, the slender stalks over an inch long and the sweet-scented, yellow flower balls over ½ inch in diameter. As a rule the ends of the twigs on which the flowers are borne have no spines, these appearing later.

The Pods are very variable in size, up to 6 inches in length and their peculiarity is the marked jointing which, before they are full grown, gives them the appearance of a string of beads. They are smooth, with a slight bloom and contain some 6-8 oval, flattened seeds which ripen from March onwards.

Uses.—The wood is used for axe, hoe and tool handles.

ACACIA SENEGAL Willd.—Dakwora. LEGUMINOSAE.

A small tree some 15-20 feet high on an average, which is commonly met with in the more northerly provinces, especially in Sokoto, where it grows in dense thickets. It branches low down and is often shrub-like in its young stages, later producing a bole some 6 feet in length. The branches, ascending at an angle of about 60 degrees, repeatedly fork and form an open, flat-topped crown from which some of the long straight twigs protrude some feet above. It is a source of gum-arabic.

The Bark of young trees is very light in colour with a creamy tint, that of older trees, especially those which grow in the open, is purple on the bole, with patches of the lighter tint here and there. All over it are minute, whitish scales, so fine that they rub off in the hand as a fine powder, like that of Acacia Seyal. Here and there, according to season, are larger, thicker grey scales, chiefly about wounds or on the swollen forks. The bark is very thin and if scratched with the nail shows the bright green cambium layer just under the surface. The slash is mottled red.

The Thorns are in threes at the swollen nodes. The centre thorn is sharply recurved like a claw, the two side thorns being almost straight and pointing forward towards the tip of the twig. All are short, very sharp, with broad bases, like rose thorns, dark brown to almost black in colour, with a greyish bloom.

The Wood is white, but of such small dimensions that it is not used.

The Leaves are bipinnate, 3-4 inches long, with some six pairs of pinnae, each with some 20 pairs of leaflets, blue-green in colour and paler below than above. The ribs are covered with very short hairs.

The Flowers which appear in April are in 3-4 inch long spikes, one or two at the nodes. From ½-1 inch of the spike is flowerless, the rest densely covered with small creamy-white flowers, each having a pale green 5-lobed calyx, five pale green petals and a large mass of short, white stamens with a pistil indistinguishable amongst them.

The Fruits are pods, varying in size according as they contain 1-6 seeds. They ripen in November and remain on the tree till April, often a very heavy crop on the leafless tree. They are 1½-4 inches long and an inch broad, flat, slightly shiny, embossed at the seeds, sometimes the same width throughout, sometimes indented on the margin between one seed and another, sandy in colour, with often blotches of a darker colour. They split either whilst on the tree or fall entire and open on the ground, the seeds remaining attached to each half alternately and the two halves attached at the stalk. The seeds are round, flat, green-brown, with a U-shaped scar on each side and attached to the pod edge by a short, thick stalk. The pod is prominently cellular veined.

Uses.—The bark of the roots is twisted into ropes which are of great strength.

ACACIA SEYAL Del.—Dushe, Dussa, Jimshi, Erafi, Gishishiya. “Talh.” LEGUMINOSAE.

This very common species is noted for its occurrence as pure forest over large areas of country. It can be distinguished at a glance from A. Sieberiana, which it resembles in small trees, by its powdery orange or rust-coloured bark, or in the case of the variety A. fistula, by the colour being a milky white. It is generally a small tree from 15-30 feet in height, resembling A. arabica in form, with an umbrella-shaped or flat-topped crown formed by the ascending and spreading branches. Sometimes the secondary branches are practically horizontal and the crown wide and quite flat on the top. It bears a profuse mass of bright yellow flower-balls, highly scented and very conspicuous. It occurs in clumps or isolated examples on stony ground, not in loose sand, but where the ground is broken up and barren looking.

The Bark, the most distinguishing feature, is powdery and comes off in the hand with the appearance of minute flakes like bran. It is a rust-red or orange colour and in the case of the variety A. fistula the bark is green with the powder milk-white in colour. A clear white or yellow gum exudes from the slash, which is light red and white, with brown edges. A. fistula is light red with green edges.

The Thorns are similar to those of A. arabica, but shorter, 1-2 inches long, white with black points, straight, strong and sharp and at an angle of about 100° to each other. The base is frequently largely swollen. Near the tips of the twigs little recurved thorns occur in place of the long, straight ones.

The Wood is whitish, a brown colour being given it by the lines of hard tissue. It is apt to discolour with mould. In transverse section the close concentric rings of hard and soft tissue are very distinct, the pores are very numerous in the bands of soft tissue of varying width, the alternating bands of hard tissue being almost free of pores. The rays are straight, the larger plainly visible, the finer often closer together, showing as light-reflecting bands in radial section. In tangential section the hard tissue makes a well-defined grain of light brown. The wood is soft, the grain coarse; it works easily with tools, the plane giving a rough finish. Weight 50 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are bipinnate, about 2 inches long with 6-8 pairs of pinnae cut up into some 15 pairs of leaflets. There are typically three in the angle of each pair of thorns and they are dark green when full grown.

The Flowers are in yellow balls about ½ inch in diameter, 1-4 in the axil of a leaf. They have 1½ inch stalks, are sweet scented and appear from January onwards in masses which make the tree all yellow at a distance. The young leaves appear just as the flowers are going.

The Fruits are slightly curved, flat, jointed, embossed pods, 3-5 inches long, light brown with green tinges and finely veined. When ripe the pod splits up both edges, and the seeds, 6-10 in number, remain fastened to the edges by the long twisted attachments, from which they break loose gradually, the pod sections remaining attached to the tree for some time before this occurs. Many pods fall with the seeds still attached to them. The clusters of curved, split pods are most conspicuous and they contract considerably during the ripening stages.

ACACIA SIEBERIANA DC.—Fara kaya, Bauji. LEGUMINOSAE.

This common and widely distributed species has, when full-grown, some similarity to Acacia campylacantha, especially when the species occur in the open. Its long, white thorns distinguish it from the latter. It is occasionally met with as pure forest, but should not be confused with Acacia Seyal, the “Talh” acacia, which is very like the small A. Sieberiana and has yellow flower-balls and ochrey bark. Old trees are a height of about 50 or more feet with girths of 5-6 feet. They have large round crowns and sometimes rather persistent lower twigs, though 20 feet boles are not uncommon. It grows well in dry situations and frequently occurs, mixed with A. Seyal, in open, dry country.

The Bark of young trees is yellowish and smooth, this feature persisting on the branches of older trees, which have rough, small, square scales, grey in colour on the stem and larger limbs. The bark exudes a gum which is white, clear and brittle when dry, making a fair mucilage. The slash is yellow, with dark red edges.

The Thorns, persistent everywhere except on the bole and largest limbs, are fine, straight and white, with very acute points. They are in pairs at about 120° to each other, pointing slightly forward, up to 3 inches long. On new shoots they are green and soft, hardening as the shoot ages. Quite small thorns are found at the tip of the shoots.

The Wood is a dull yellow colour, very subject to bluish discolorations, due to mould. In transverse section the rings are indistinct and inseparable from the numerous concentric lines of hard and soft tissue which are clearly marked. The pores are open, very numerous, of different sizes, the large ones plainly visible, mostly single with little soft tissue, except along the rings where the pores are in rows, each separated by a ray. There are a few double pores, nests and small chains. The rays are slightly waved, fairly evenly spaced except where the finer rays are closer together. The rays show as light-reflecting bands in the radial section. The wood is soft, rather coarse in grain, easily worked, planing to a rather rough, untidy surface. The weight is 45 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves, which spring from between the thorns, are bipinnate, about 5-6 inches long with 10-25 pairs of pinnae, the numerous and dark green leaflets being ⅛ inch long with rounded tips.

The Flowers are in white balls slightly over ½ inch in diameter, with ¾ inch stalks, in loose bunches. Their colour distinguishes them from those of other species similar and likely to be confused. They are sweet-scented and visited by bees.

The Fruits are large, brown pods, from 6-7 inches long, 1 inch wide and ½ inch thick, straight or slightly curved. They are not very numerous, but conspicuous by their size. The seeds, about 12 in number are quadrangular, rounded, flattened, very hard and dark and light brown.

Uses.—The young trees and the branches of the old are used for handles of implements, the angle of branching being especially suited to the shape of the large hoe (galma) handle.

The gum, in solution, is applied to turban and gown cloth and a sheen produced by beating.

ADANSONIA DIGITATA B. Juss.—Kuka. “Baobab.” MALVACEAE.

The Baobab tree is so well known as hardly to need description. The enormous girth up to some 50 feet, large white flowers and pendulous fruits are familiar. From its earliest years it assumes the shape, in miniature, of the older trees. Though nature plays the largest part in the shaping, the cropping of leaves for food, the stripping of bark for rope and the ringing of large branches by beetles till they fall to the ground, all help to accelerate the abnormal form. Widely distributed, it is locally more than generally common, and abounds in groups. The majority of large native towns are full of it. Occasionally it can be seen without the usual stunted appearance, with slender branches and well-formed crown. An association with Tamarindus indica (Tsamiya) is fairly common, the latter growing long slender stems about the former and partly embracing its trunk.

The Bark is grey, with all shades of purple and a sheen. It has great callus-growing properties and appears vigorously alive in its power to cover up wounds. The outer bark is soft, spongy and full of sap, and it is the inner layers which are stripped off for the rope making. The slash is mottled red and white.

The Wood is not used. It is very light, soft and crumbling, rotting rapidly under exposure.

The Leaves are digitate with some six or seven lobes, 2-3 inches long, borne on a 4-5 inch leaf-stalk. They have sinuous margins and a tongued tip; the mid-rib is sunken and the veins regular. The surface is dark green above and smooth, but downy beneath. The leaves appear soon after the flowers.

The Flowers are solitary and pendulous on 9-10 inch stalks, and appear in May before the leaves. They are some 6-8 inches in diameter with five leathery sepals covered densely on the inside with straight hairs; five white petals nearly twice the length of the sepals, recurved at the tip and with wrinkled edges; a stout, shiny, white, tubular stamen column from which the mass of white stamens with light brown anthers radiate and bend up towards the vertical position and from which emerges the long shiny white pistil with spiral bend and outward growth, bearing at its tip the flattened, lobed, sticky stigma. All the flower parts tend to assume the vertical position. The Hausa calls them “kumbali.”

The Fruits are large, oval or round, 5-15 inches long and 3-7 inches in diameter, covered with brittle, bronze hairs which break off when handled. The stalk is long and stout and the calyx remains at the base are broken and hardened. There is a short woody “nose.” A number of kidney-shaped seeds are embedded in a white, crisp, acid and slightly refrigerant pulp, pleasant to taste when fresh, and fibres separate the rows of seeds. The seeds are grey with a brown patch, intricately veined. They are very hard. The pulp is called “garin kuka,” the seeds “guntsu.”

Uses.—The leaves are used as a sauce in soup and food, called “Miyan (or) Garin Kuka.” They are given also, with bran and salt as a horse medicine, called “chusar doki.”

The inner bark is stripped and twisted into strong ropes “kista,” tethering ropes “gindi,” and strings of musical instruments. The acid pulp is eaten fresh.

ADINA MICROCEPHALA Hiern.—Kadanyar rafi. RUBIACEAE.

This is a large tree inhabiting stream banks which extends as far north as 12°. It attains a height of 60 feet with a girth of 6-8 feet, occasionally more. It has a habit of growing right in the beds of small streams where it is washed annually by the flood waters. In these situations the trunk will assume almost a horizontal position at the base and survive severe damage. Except in dense stream bank vegetation the bole is rarely clean, but is covered with slender shoots down to the ground level. The erect willowy shoots are a marked feature of the tree. It has a large dense crown with heavy limbs, and the rosette-like growth of the long narrow pointed leaves distinguishes it.

The Bark is grey and deeply fissured, often spirally, with long fibrous ridges and ragged scales which fall in large pieces. The slash is a deep dull red, with thick spongy fibres, and a sticky sap exudes.

The Leaves are some 9 inches long and 1½ inches broad, with tapering base and long pointed tip. The stalk is an inch long. The upper surface is a dark, shining green, paler beneath with the mid-rib prominent. They are whorled and appear like rosettes.

The Flowers are borne on 3-inch stalks in the leaf axils from February to June. Each stalk has a pair of bracts in the middle, or nearer the head of flowers. These flower-heads are spherical, 1-1¼ inches in diameter, greenish and perfumed. Each separate flower is tubular, with a short 5-lobed calyx, a long tubular 5-lobed corolla, 5 stamens inserted on the corolla throat and a long, knobbed pistil. The corolla tube is pinkish, the tips of the lobes mauve, and the calyx is green, red inside at the base.

The Fruits are in spherical heads, greatly resembling those of Mitragyne africana. Each is a small capsule which parts down the middle into two cocci which contain a number of minute seeds, winged at both ends.

Uses.—The timber is suitable for all kinds of furniture and joinery work.

AFRORMOSIA LAXIFLORA Harms.—Makarfo, Kariye gatari. LEGUMINOSAE.

A small or medium-sized tree very common in bush or tree savannah, averaging 30 feet in height, but attaining 50 feet, with girths of 3-6 feet. The bole, though frequently of good length, is rarely straight, in fact it is a characteristic of this species that the bole is bent and twisted and that the branches show this feature to the tips. It is like a large edition of Stereospermum Kunthianum (Sansame). The crown is high, rounded and open, giving little shade. The bark is the most ready means of identification.

The Bark is all colours, grey, green, bluish and brown in patches, the large scales falling entire like those of the plane tree and leaving deeply indented scars which gradually change colour. The slash is a rich yellow with a thin green bark edging.

The Wood is very dark brown. In transverse section the rings are clearly marked dark lines of varied width, rarely circular. The pores are small, in chains and festoons connected by soft tissue which shows as flecks in the dark hard tissue. The rays are fine and almost straight, invisible to the unaided eye and visible as short light bands in radial section, in which section the grain is banded and straight. In tangential section the grain is mottled, almost figured. The wood is hard, not easy to saw or plane but capable of being worked up to a rather oily finish which takes a polish. It has a not unpleasant smell. In seasoning it has been noticed that numerous radial and concentric cracks occurred but that these closed up and became quite invisible even under a lens. The weight is 50 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are pinnate, 9 inches long with an average of 11 alternate leaflets which are oval, slightly cleft, 2 inches long and 1 inch broad, increasing in size upwards, with shiny surface and short stout stalks.

The Flowers are in small racemes amongst the leaves at the twig ends. They are inconspicuous and appear from May to July. Each has 4 green sepals, 5 greenish-white petals, 10 stamens in the keel, not all fertile and a prominent, flattened pistil. They are ½ inch long.

The Fruits are pods from 2-4 inches long and an inch broad, brown with a paler edge, shiny, with veined surface and slightly embossed seeds. The 1-3 seeds are round, flat, light brown and have a white hilum, and are ⅜ inch long. The pods are persistent on the tree till the following rains.

Uses.—The wood is used for axe and hoe handles, its excessive hardness giving it the name of “kariye gatari” or “break the axe.” Concoctions of the bark and roots are used medicinally.

AFZELIA AFRICANA Smith.—Kawo. LEGUMINOSAE.

A species which is more locally than generally common and in some forests found very evenly distributed throughout large areas. Large timber specimens, as found in the south, are rarely met with, as the form of the typical northern specimens is one having a short, thick bole with a girth of 6-10 feet, large spreading limbs forming a wide, rather flat-topped crown with dense foliage and good shade. Forty feet is an average height for such full-grown trees. It is comparatively rare in the extreme north, but especially common in parts of the central and southern provinces of the north. At a distance it can be distinguished by the brilliant green of its foliage, which, though apparently dense, is actually very superficial and can be seen through in somewhat the same manner as can Chlorophora excelsa. It attains its full size in “kurmis” or on the slopes of well-watered hills.

The Bark is grey and flakes off in large, uneven-edged scales which leave distinctive, light patches. The slash is pale red and of a crumbling composition.

The Wood, when freshly cut is a light brown with distinct orange tint, which always remains, even when the timber has darkened to the deep red brown after seasoning. The sapwood is white or yellowish, generally the latter, the orange of the pores enhancing this. In transverse section the rings are indistinctly marked, but the soft tissue, in unusual quantities, is clearly seen, as are the pores, which are large, rather far apart, some single, or in small nests, or in lines. The rays, not visible to the naked eye, are continuous and regularly spaced, readily visible in radial section. The grain is inclined to pick up in bands, it being by no means an easy wood to work with, but the resulting finish is well worth the trouble required. It is hard, durable and strong, and weighs from 55-60 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are pinnate, about a foot long with 6-8 pairs of opposite, shiny, dark-green leaflets, 3½ inches long and 2½ inches broad. They are a most brilliant green when new.

The Flowers are in stiff, flat panicles and appear in March. Each flower has four dark-green cupped sepals, one long petal, cream-coloured with red lines, seven fertile stamens, two infertile stamens and a long, dark-green style.

The Fruits, which ripen about December or January, are large, hard, black pods, 5-6 inches long, 2½ inches broad and an inch thick, with a point at the tip. They split in half to disclose about eight large, black beans, set in a red aril in large, white cells. The pods are numerous and conspicuous on the trees.

Uses.—Planks and mortars are made locally from the wood. Furniture in small quantities has been made, and except for the weight of the wood, it is admirably suitable, in colour and texture for this purpose. The seeds are sold as a charm (fasa daga) and used in the game of “dara.” The idea is held, in some parts of the country, that if the seeds be picked from the pod while it is still on the tree and made into “tuwo” the eating of them will make one safe from an attempted blow with a stick, which will remain poised, or break with the blow.

The leaves are eaten as fodder by cattle.

ALBIZZIA BROWNEI Oliv.—Madobiar rafi. LEGUMINOSAE.

This is a large species of the tree savannah, extending generally by way of the streams and “kurmis” up to above 11° N. On suitable soils it can be found in large groups forming a high forest with the crowns meeting over 60 feet overhead. The bole length is considerable, often 30 feet and the stem is slender and straight. Enormous isolated trees inhabit the more sheltered “kurmis” and reach a height of 80 feet with a girth of 12 feet. Such specimens have small root flanges and the crown is low and of great size, not affording very much shade owing to the spreading limbs. The large bipinnate leaves of distinctive form and the big, flat pods are readily recognised.

The Bark is greyish-brown, fairly smooth, with square or rectangular close-fitting scales, larger and rougher in old trees, especially at the base. The slash is light orange in colour.

The Wood is a light red, with streaks and areas of darker and lighter red and white. In transverse section the rings are well marked and wide apart, the pores are large, mostly twins or small groups and imperfect festoons, the soft tissue not linking them up in long lengths. The rays are fine, wavy and irregular in their spacing, closing up and separating, showing as red bands in radial and fine stippling in tangential section. The wood is soft, easy to saw and plane, the finish being smooth, with a sheen and able to take a polish. The weight is 42 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are 12-18 inches long, with an average of three opposite pairs of pinnae 6-7 inches long bearing four, five and six pairs of leaflets on the lower, middle and upper pinnae respectively. The leaflets are roughly rectangular in shape due to the curving forward of the mid-rib and the blade of the leaflet being wider on the inside at the base and on the outside at the middle. The leaflets increase in size from the lowest pair to the topmost pair, varying from 1-3 inches long. They are practically the same dark, rich green above and beneath, being reddish when young. The mid-rib and nerves are prominent on both surfaces.

The Flowers appear in March and April just as the new leaves are maturing. They are of both sexes on the same tree and the same shoot, borne in small heads at the end of numerous long stalks in the leaf axils, the whole shoot being some 12 inches long. The female is solitary in the middle of the head in a circle of male flowers which open slightly later. The female is white and has a corolla of 5-6 lobes in a tubular 5-lobed calyx, and a large number of radiating styles, white with black stigmas, like a Sea Anemone in form. The male is much smaller, with a minute calyx, small tubular corolla of five points, and a long slender column of bright red stamens with black anthers radiating in a tuft at the top of the column.

The Fruits are large, flat, light mahogany brown pods, up to 8 inches long and 1½ inches broad, shining and veined, and embossed at the 9-12 seeds which are ⅜ inch long, flat, oval, sharp-edged and dark brown, with a prominent “horse-shoe” mark. The pods fall and split and the seeds remain attached alternately to the two halves till blown or washed out.

ALBIZZIA CHEVALIERI Harms.—Katsari. LEGUMINOSAE.

A small tree up to 30 feet in height with a girth of 2-3 feet, common throughout the northern provinces. Owing to the similarity of its pods to those of Acacia macrostachya, it may be confused with this species in the dry season when the tree is leafless. The larger leaves, absence of thorns, corky bark and balls of flowers distinguish it at once on examination. It has an erect stem, often three or four stems from a low level, which repeatedly fork and form an open spreading crown, some of the branches extending widely and inclined to droop with the weight of the large leaves. The twigs are softly hairy.

The Bark is pale grey with a light brown tinge due to the patches left by the falling scales. It is thickly covered with very soft, corky scales, rectangular in shape and of greater length than breadth. The horizontal cuts are very straight and seem to have been done with a sharp knife. The fallen scales show a reddish colour beneath, which rapidly turns light brown and finally grey. The surface of the bark scales is very smooth and silvery.

The Wood is medium weight, rather light yellow, with a marked, long, straight grain, alternate yellow and white. The pores are very long, the rings very close. Planes and saws well, with a sheen in places.

The Leaves are about 9 inches long, bipinnate with some 10-15 pairs of pinnae, each having from 10-20 leaflets. The leaflets are broad, sharply pointed and uneven in shape, the inner portion being much narrower than the outer, whilst the inner edge is almost straight and the outer curved to the tip; they overlap and are inclined towards the tip of the pinna, whose main rib has a small extension between the top-most pair. The leaves are slightly sensitive and close at night and very shortly after they are gathered. The main rib of the leaf has purple blotches on its upper surface and is covered with very short hairs. The leaf is smooth with a waxy surface and much darker above than below.

The Flowers, which appear in April are in spherical heads of about thirty together, borne on a 2½ inch stalk. Each flower has a small 5-lobed reddish calyx, 5 small reddish petals and some 18 stamens which are an inch long, very slender, white, gradually becoming green towards the anthers. There is a 1½ inch long pistil, also becoming green towards the tip. The flowers are sweet scented, blooming at night.

The Fruits are pods from 3-6 inches long and ¾ inch wide, and vary in size according to number of seeds and in colour from a very light brown with a pinkish tinge to an uniform light red-brown colour. They are flat and the seeds embossed, the edges of the pod being straight and not indented between the seeds. The whole surface is covered with very short hairs and is velvety to the touch. The pods open on the tree or on the ground, splitting up to the stalk. The seeds are small, round, flat, and green-brown in colour, and are attached to each half of the pod alternately by a long stalk, part of which is straight and part tightly curved into an S next the seed. The pods are ripe in November and remain, a light crop, till April. There is a fine cellular veining on the surface.

AMBLYGONOCARPUS SCHWEINFURTHII Harms.—Tsege, Kiriya ta mata, Kolo. LEGUMINOSAE.

This strikingly handsome tree, with a strong resemblance to the Mountain Ash, is found on poor soils as far as 12½° N., but in the belts where the soil is better than that of the surrounding country. Elsewhere further south it occurs throughout the higher savannah forests, often near streams, where it will grow 60 feet high, but with a small girth in proportion, not exceeding 5 feet. It averages 30 feet high, with a long clean bole and high, wide, flat crown of great beauty from the filtering of light through its bipinnate leaves whose small round leaflets are set apart, the leaves lying in the horizontal plane. A 30-feet bole on the larger trees is not uncommon. It gives little shade. It seems to be very local and where found, occurs over a small area of country in fair numbers.

The Bark is grey or brown, rough, with uneven sized scales, rounded or polygonal. These leave red scars on falling.

The Wood is a rich red-brown, more red than brown. The sapwood is grey. In transverse section the rings show as darker bands of varied width and the colour is darker in this section. The pores are numerous, in festoons of various lengths, or single, and a few nests, the whole densely and evenly distributed and the soft tissue plainly visible to the unaided eye as waves and specks in the dark hard tissue. The rays are straight, unevenly spaced, some being only the width of a ray apart, others far apart, some visible to the naked eye. The vertical section shows bands of colour and long dark pores. The wood is very hard, difficult to saw and picks up in bands under the plane, but the finished surface is smooth and will take a high polish. The weight is 60 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are bipinnate, 10 inches long, with 2-5 pairs of opposite or sub-opposite pinnae bearing 8-16 alternate leaflets, broad oval, flat tipped, pale blue-green, on light brown stalks, each ¾ inch long and ½ inch broad. They spring from the ends of erect twigs and lie in the horizontal plane. The leaflets are set apart and do not touch or overlap.

The Flowers, which appear in March, are in spikes, 2-3 inches long, crowded with white, scented flowers. Each flower has five small white petals with acute tips, ten white stamens with yellow anthers and a white pistil. They are not very conspicuous as they are partly hidden amongst the foliage.

The Fruits are large four-angled pods, the suture angle rounded. They are 4 inches long and 1½ inches broad, brown, pendulous on a 3 inch long stalk. They contain 6-10 seeds, roughly four-angled, pointed at one end. These lie across the length of the pod and ripen about December. They are ¾ inch long.

ANDIRA INERMIS H. B. K.—Gwaska, Madobia. LEGUMINOSAE.

A large tree occurring near streams in Bauchi, Sokoto and Zaria provinces. It is also found in the forests where the conditions are moist enough, and is not at all uncommon amongst the rocks on the Bauchi plateau. It rarely has any length of bole, the crown almost reaching the ground and the stem being bent or leaning. The crown is dense and the branches droop at the end. A height of 30-40 feet with a girth of 4-5 feet is usual. The foliage much resembles that of Khaya senegalensis, from a distance, but has a brilliant sheen.

The Bark is brown or grey-brown, roughish, with scales an inch or two in diameter fitting close together.

The Leaves are pinnate, 10-18 inches long with 5-7 pairs of opposite or nearly opposite leaflets and a terminal leaf. The smallest at the base are 1½ inches long and ¾ inch wide; the largest in the middle are 3½ inches long and 1½ inches wide. The edges are parallel and there is a sharp taper to a cleft tip. The basal lobes are uneven and the leaflets vary much in shape. The terminal leaflet is broader in proportion to its length than the lateral leaflets and the margins are not parallel. There are small stipules at the base of each stalk. The surface on both sides is shining and the new leaves are a most brilliant green. The mid-rib is below the upper surface but raised beneath.

The Flowers which bloom from March to May are in loose panicles up to 2 feet in length and in such numbers as to show up from a considerable distance. The blossom is very ornamental. The flower is papilionaceous with a large pink standard and white keel. A species of small black ant swarms over the flowers at times.

The Fruits resemble large walnuts and hang in bunches on long stalks like mangoes. They are ovoid, 2-3 inches long and 2 inches across, with a thick, fibrous, green-brown case containing two white kernels one above the other. They ripen about September. There is the line of a suture down one side, and the surface is uneven.

ANOGEISSUS LEIOCARPUS Guill. & Perr.—Marike. COMBRETACEAE.

This is perhaps the most evenly and widely distributed of all trees, extending from the southern rain belt to the extreme north of Nigeria, and over the border into French territory north of Sokoto, where some of the largest examples of the northern provinces are to be found. A height of 70 feet with girths of 6-8 feet is common. As regards the situations most favourable to this species, level country with deep soil and average rainfall is preferred, and considerable areas of such country are found occupied almost entirely by it, both as full grown trees and saplings in dense thickets. These latter are especially valuable for the production of forked poles (gofa) for building purposes, and are transported great distances owing to their great durability and comparative resistance to White Ants. The species is readily distinguished at a distance by its feathery, birch-like foliage and drooping branches, which, at first acutely ascending, bend over and droop in graceful curves. A light-demander, its branches are extremely persistent on the stem and only where it is very densely grown, preferably with an admixture of shade-bearing species, will clean boles be found. Examples grown in the open, or suddenly freed from the forest by the clearing for cultivation, are covered with small twigs and the foliage extends almost to ground level. Large specimens in forest have clean boles, generally forking at no great height, with wide-spreading, open crowns.

The Bark varies according to habitat. That of specimens in dense forest is fairly smooth with small, brown scales, but as generally seen in the north is a very light grey with long scales which turn up at the ends before falling, giving the tree a ragged appearance, with large, lighter patches. A dark gum exudes from the bark, very inferior as an adhesive as it is cloudy when made up into solution. The slash is pale yellow with thin dark lines.

The Wood is a dark, dull, smoky brown, sometimes almost black, with reddish streaks. The sapwood is grey or dirty white. In transverse section the rings are seen as dark bands, the pores are minute and densely distributed in small groups, chains and festoons of various sizes, with single pores between, the soft tissue sparse and hardly connecting the pores. The rays are extremely fine and close together. In vertical section the grain is very fine and the pores have glistening contents. It is a very hard wood, difficult to work with all tools, often knotty, picking up in bands, but will polish, even on the transverse section. The weight is 64 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are on long, slender, drooping twigs, and are oval, slightly darker above than below with a silky pubescence which is most marked in the young foliage. They tend to assume one plane. Length 2-3 inches, breadth 1 inch.

The Flowers are little cream-coloured, scented balls, ⅜ inch diam., from February on. Each has a 5-pointed calyx, 10 erect stamens, a short, straight pistil, round the base of which is a ring of reddish hairs. They are very inconspicuous.

The Fruits are small, rough, cone-like balls of irregularly serrated-edged seeds, packed horizontally. They are green in the seed and brown in the wing portion. They ripen about December and are about ¾ inch.

Uses.—The wood is burnt entire and the fine, white ash used for fixing dyes. The ash is also used for washing white garments. The roots are used as “Chew-sticks” for cleansing the mouth and teeth. The saplings and branches produce forked poles (gofa) for building. The bark yields a dark, inferior gum. The seeds are a cure for worms in horses. The leaves, mixed with salt, make a yellow dye.

ANONA SENEGALENSIS Pers.—Gwandar daji. “Custard Apple.” ANONACEAE.

A very common shrub, averaging some 10-12 feet in height, sometimes a small tree, in suitable situations exceeding 20 feet; very widely distributed and found everywhere except in the extreme north. The distinguishing features are the oval, bluish leaves, the waxy, yellow flowers and the familiar orange-coloured fruits. It has no particular form.

The Bark is normally light, silvery grey, smooth, with marked horizontal cuts round the stem, having the appearance of joints. Older or exposed stems, especially those subject to fire, become darker and roughly scaly. The slash is a dull, pale pink.

The Wood is greenish-grey. The transverse section shows indistinct rings, minute single pores scattered in between the fine waved rays which reach from the centre to the edge of the wood and show as small dark bands in radial section. In vertical section the grain shows as slight variations in colour. It is soft and easy to saw and plane. Weight 40 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are oval, some 6 inches long and 3 inches broad, bluish-green, with a short stalk, the lateral nerves inclined well forward and the small connecting veins parallel, numerous and at right angles to the mid-rib. The leaves stand erect and are apt to fold up along the mid-rib. When crushed they are fragrant.

The Flowers appear from January to April, single or in pairs, ¾ inch long, pale yellow and waxy. Each has three small green sepals and six petals in two rows, the outer three large, with broad flat edges which meet tight together in bud, the inner three smaller, thick and pale yellow, their tips meeting over a mass of stamens round the ovary and stigmas. The flowers do not open wide and last for a long time.

The Fruits are rounded, 2-3 inches long, composed of fleshy carpels each containing a seed, green at first with a resemblance to cones, ripening to a rich orange colour. They are pleasant but unsatisfactory eating owing to the large number of seeds embedded in the juicy flesh. Birds are very partial to them, hollowing them out before they ripen.

Uses.—The fruit is eaten fresh.

BALANITES AEGYPTIACA Del.—Aduwa. “Desert Date.” SIMARUBACEAE.

In the north this is one of the commonest trees on loose sand or barren, stony wastes, where it is often the only species to survive the extreme conditions. It averages 15-20 feet high, but 30 feet is not uncommon, with a girth of 4-5 feet. The long green thorns and small dark leaves distinguish it. The form is roughly spherical, with a tangled mass of long thorny twigs, whose ends droop or protrude here and there some feet from the main thicket. It extends northwards to the limits of tree growth, affording fodder for camels and goats.

The Bark is grey, with long, wide, deep, vertical fissures in which the yellow of the new bark can be seen. The scales are long, thick, prominent and ragged. The branch bark is distinctive. Dark green and smooth, the cream-coloured lenticels of various lengths cover it ever more thickly from the tip downwards till the green colour is completely obscured and the grey of the branch bark is reached. The slash is pale yellow.

The Thorns are modified shoots borne spirally round the long slender twigs in the leaf axils, 2-3 inches long, tapering evenly to a strong, sharp point. They incline slightly forward and barely curve. They are dark green and persist on the branches.

The Wood is light yellow with sometimes greyish discolorations. In transverse section the rings are distinct in wavy light lines; the pores are small, open and in little groups in concentric rings and the rays are clearly visible as light lines of various overlapping lengths. In radial section the rays add a figure to the wood in lines up to an inch long. In vertical section the wood is of even colour and texture, close grained and sound. It is easy to carpenter and planes smoothly without picking up. Weight 48-50 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves, with the thorns in their axils, are really paired leaflets on a short, common stalk; 1½-2 inches long, over 1 inch wide, a very dull, dark green, they are unequal lobed, as illustrated, with a tendency to close up along the mid-rib. They assume a vertical position, even when the twig droops, the stalks bending to adjust themselves to this position.

The Flowers, in the leaf axils, are found from November to March, in spikes up to 3 inches long, often shortened to resemble round clusters. Each flower is ½ inch across, with five small green sepals, five longer and darker green petals, ten short yellow stamens and a shining dark green ovary with short, blunt pistil. The tree sometimes flowers out of season.

The Fruits, which ripen from February onwards, are 1¼ inches long and about an inch wide on a short stalk. At first green with a wrinkled, nipple-like tip, they turn yellow on ripening, when they have a thin hard skin, a light brown, sticky, edible flesh and a large, hard, pointed stone. There is a space between the flesh and the skin.

Uses.—The fruits are edible, particularly appreciated by beasts. The wood makes excellent axe and hoe handles. Planes have been made of it, it being similar to beech in quality. The branches are used for hedging farms.

BALSAMODENDRON AFRICANUM A. Rich.—Dashi. BURSERACEAE.

This shrub or small tree is locally plentiful and is found in all situations, in the driest sandy soils, on the tops of rocks where it grows stout and stunted in the crevices, and in loamy soils. It is frequently seen planted as a live hedge from cuttings and forms an impenetrable barrier after the habit of the Blackthorn. The slender but rigid twigs shoot out in all directions and with its trifoliate leaves on the purple twigs, the plant is readily identified. As a small tree, a form met with on hills or in better soils in the forest, the stem is short and stout, dividing low down and quickly branching into a light rounded crown. The height is rarely over 15-20 feet.

The Bark of old examples is green and shining, covered with little papery scales which flake off. That of the branches and twigs is red or purple. A resinous gum with a pleasant scent exudes from the slash.

The Thorns are branches whose tips are modified in the form of spines, which will bear leaves, and in the dormant season are dotted with buds.

The Leaves are trifoliate, often very small, but when full-grown some 3-3½ inches long, of which one inch is stalk, red above, green beneath. The middle leaflet is broadest slightly over half-way up, tapering gradually to the base and more suddenly to the tip, with irregularly serrated edges. The lateral leaflets are unequal in size, the right hand one usually considerably larger than the left, both rounded and serrated in the same manner as the middle leaflet. The surface is shiny waxy green, very bright when young. The venation is prominent beneath, the lateral nerves much branched and zig-zag. The leaf is scented.

The Flowers appear in October on the leafless tree and are in small clusters all along the twigs, up to about 10 in a cluster, each on a minute stalk. The flower is ¼ inch long with a 4-lobed tubular corolla deep red with green lobes, the petals separate but overlapping and close together in the tubular portion which is held in the 4-lobed, cup-shaped calyx. There are 8 stamens, 4 just appearing in the corolla mouth, 4 shorter, and a pistil wholly below the corolla mouth.

The Fruits are small irregularly pear-shaped drupes a little over ¼ inch long, greyish with a purple bloom which is easily rubbed off. They have a highly resinous flesh and white kernel and ripen in the early spring. They grow in clusters along the twigs and the crop is often a heavy one.

Uses.—The resin is used as a scent on garments and medicinally, taken internally.

BAUHINIA RETICULATA DC.—Kalgo, Kargo. LEGUMINOSAE.

A medium-sized tree or shrub, in which latter form it occurs over large areas of country as pure growth, particularly as secondary growth in farmed land, where it is a great pest to the farmer who desires to continue sowings. It grows prolifically from stumps which the farmer does not trouble to uproot. It is very fond of small, shallow depressions, where it will grow to the exclusion of all else. In its proper habitat it will grow over 30 feet high with a girth of 8-10 feet, with short bole and an enormous rounded crown of dense foliage affording good shade. It is one of the commonest species in the north.

The Bark is a dull, dark grey, sometimes with a rust-red tinge, deeply fissured and ridged with hard, brittle bark of some thickness, which falls in large, ragged sections. That of young trees can be ripped off readily after being cut. The slash is bright crimson, turning brown on exposure, and shows the fibrous nature of the bark.

The Wood is oak-brown, rather dirty looking, with light patches and dark discolorations, especially round flaws. In transverse section the rings are indistinct but the hard and soft tissue is very well marked, mostly in concentric lines. The pores are small, evenly distributed, mostly in festoons joined by the soft tissue. The rays are extremely fine and closely spaced, invisible to the unaided eye and very faintly seen in radial section as small bands. The wood is easily sawn but picks up badly under the plane. It is very strong and tough and weighs 50 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are bifoliate, the depth to which the leaf is divided varying a great deal and the angle being sharp or rounded. They average 4 inches across but those from stool shoots especially may be very much larger and generally the larger the tree the smaller the leaves. There are four main nerves on each leaflet and the mid-rib projects slightly between them. The leaf stalk is an inch long, with large base. Like all species of this genus the leaf tends to fold up along the mid-rib. The colour is lighter beneath and the venation a very intricate network and prominent. The texture is tough.

The Flowers are in spikes, 2-6 inches long and appear in February or March or even as late as June. Each has a 5-lobed calyx, green-brown in colour, 5 white petals, wrinkled and overlapping at the edges, 10 stamens of varied length with brown anthers and a short, blunt pistil. The flowers drop off readily when handled and are about an inch long. They do not open very wide.

The Fruits are pods 6-9 inches long, hard, flat, dark-brown, straight or contorted into strange shapes, 2 inches broad and ¼-½ inch thick. They are persistent on the tree for many months, a most disfiguring feature, and drop entire, rotting on the ground. They are very liable to attacks from a grub which destroys the seeds. These are small, brown, oval and scattered about in the mealy endocarp which has an objectionable smell.

Uses.—The wood is used for axe and hoe handles of all sorts. The bark is used for binding and tying but is not plaited or twisted into ropes. Cattle eat the pods.

BAUHINIA RUFESCENS Lam.—Jirga, Tsatsagi, Matsagi. LEGUMINOSAE.

A small tree, typically inhabiting annually inundated areas but also flourishing in sandy soils of poor quality. It forms, with its numerous much branched stems, a small thicket of one or more trees; it is difficult to say how many under the circumstances, as one root-stock will produce a number at ground level, forming an impenetrable mass. It can be distinguished readily by the typical leaves of the genus, and the small size of these compared with other species. The fact that it is always in flower and fruit will identify it also.

The Bark is a light ash-coloured grey, smooth and covered with small, brown horizontal lenticels. Old stems bear at the base small dark scales and the bark is fissured giving it a speckled appearance. The slash is pink and reveals the very fibrous nature of the bark.

The Thorns are modified twigs whose tips are strongly pointed. They may support leafy shoots or bear leaves themselves and are seen best on the long, slender shoots and drooping twigs. They extend their growth indefinitely, but on the older wood may be seen as bare, woody spines 3 or 4 inches long, curved out and down.

The Wood is a dull, smoke-brown colour. In transverse section the rings are indistinct dark lines; the pores are numerous and unevenly distributed, single in small groups or in short chains, the rays invisible to the unaided eye but showing as small bands in radial section, which reflect the light. In vertical section the grain is close and there are darker bands of colour. The wood is not hard, is easily sawn and planes to a nice, soft, smooth finish though it picks up in places with the long soft fibres. The weight is 50 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are borne spirally round the branches, often in the thorn axils or on the thorns themselves, or on twigs bare of thorns. They are bifoliate, typical of the genus, rarely over an inch long and mostly a ½ inch, the terminal leaf of a new shoot often being much larger. The mid-rib is extended between the leaflets which are divided to the base and there are three main nerves to each leaflet. They are a light, blue-green or grey-green, with a bloom and are partly sensitive, closing up rapidly after being plucked.

The Flowers are white and can be found all the year round, though the proper flowering season is in the rains or towards the end of them. They are in small racemes at the twig ends, pendulous amongst the leaves, ¾ inch long, with a calyx which splits partially into five parts, remaining attached at the tips and opening beneath, 5 white petals, spoon-shaped with narrow base and broad, pointed tip, 10 white stamens with light brown anthers and a tuft of hairs at the base of each, and a clubbed pistil.

The Fruits are pods about 3 inches long, constricted between the seeds, dull black, slightly curved, containing up to eight shiny, rich red-brown seeds, roughly rectangular with one rounded corner. The seeds rattle loose in the pod which falls entire and rots on the ground. The pods hang in conspicuous clusters and may be seen all the year round.

Uses.—The bark is stripped for binding but is not plaited into ropes.

BERLINIA AURICULATA Benth.—Doka rafi. LEGUMINOSAE.

This is a medium-sized tree of the best savannah types, commonly found in “kurmis” and extending as far north as 11°. It occurs plentifully in Sokoto and Kontagora along the small streams in the south. Averaging 40 feet in height it will reach 60 feet with girths of 8-10 feet. The crown is high, rounded and very dense in the open; flatter and more superficial in heavy forest, topping a 30-feet bole, only 10 feet long in open situations. The flowers and pods are both conspicuous.

The Bark is dark-grey or brown, the scales leaving large, concave scars. The slash is pale brown.

The Wood.—The heartwood is red-brown, the sapwood light with a pink tint. In transverse section the rings are well but unevenly marked red lines. The pores are large and solitary, for the most part in oblique rows, and the rays are extremely fine and invisible to the unaided eye. In vertical section the pores are long and straight and the rings show as dark bands. It is rather a coarse, stringy wood, sawing roughly and picking up in long fibres under the plane. Where the grain suits the plane the finish has a bronze sheen. It is a fairly hard wood and weighs 50 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are pinnate, 9-12 inches long with an average of four pairs of pinnae increasing in size from the lower pair upwards, the lower 2-4 inches long and 1½—2 inches broad, the upper pair 5-7 inches long and 2-3 inches broad. The mid-rib curves forward, rounding the outer edge of the leaf. The nerves are alternate long and short. The similarity of the leaf and fruit to those of Isoberlinia doka gives it its native name.

The Flowers are in close panicled racemes at the branch tips from March to June. Each flower is 4 inches long over all, being enclosed at first in a pair of long, pale green, velvety bracteoles which separate and fall back to release the flower parts. The calyx is a slender tube divided into five long, narrow pointed, recurved sepals. The corolla has four small, linear petals and one erect white, wrinkled, cleft petal 2 inches long and broad, with a green centre splash. There are ten long, erect, hairy stamens with brown-green anthers, and a long pistil. The flowers are in such masses as to be conspicuous from a great distance.

The Fruit is a broad, flat, dark brown, velvety pod, 6-10 inches long and 2-2½ inches broad. It explodes when ripe to release some 3-5 round, flattened seeds.

BOMBAX BUONOPOZENSE Beauv.—Kuriya, Gurjiya. MALVACEAE.

This tree is known as the Red-Flowered Silk Cotton Tree and grows, on an average, to a height of 40 feet with a girth of about 5 feet. Very much larger specimens are, however, to be seen, up to 70 feet high with girths of 15 feet and more. Rounded root-flanges are prominent on the large trees. The crown is regular and umbrella-shaped, rather flat-topped, wide-spreading and open with superficial foliage giving little shade. In old specimens the bole is gnarled and the limbs much bent, the shape of the crown being often retained by the growth of the smaller branches. The species is not at all exacting as regards soil and is, in fact, commonly found on hillsides and amongst rocks where its roots penetrate the little but good soil. It is more local than general in its distribution.

The Bark of the younger trees is very corky, longitudinally fissured and horizontally cut into prominently spiked scales. The degree of roughness is very variable, being generally far more marked, relatively on younger trees, and, in the older ones, the thorns being confined to the branches, the bole having prominent layered corky scales with soft ends. Some quite small trees bear no thorns at all, but this is rare. The spines are conical, with broad corky bases and sharp black points. If a piece of the bark be snapped off it shows a light red colour. The slash is crimson.

The Wood is a dirty white colour. In transverse section the pores are large, widely scattered, single, twin or nests. The rays vary in width and in spacing very considerably, and are straight, showing as long, light-reflecting bands in radial, and as brown flecks in tangential section. In the latter section the pores are brown, open and wavy. It is a very soft and light wood, easily worked, not strong, its durability largely dependant on the manner in which it has been seasoned, with exclusion of damp and consequent mould. It is very subject to small borer beetles. The weight is only 20 lbs. a cubic foot.

The Leaves are truly digitate with generally six lobes, broad at the tip, narrow at the base, with a prominent point. The entire leaf is 6-7 inches across, with a 5 inch stalk. The venation is prominent on both surfaces and the colour is pale, the surface smooth.

The Flowers are the most conspicuous feature of all and may be found from November to February. They are red, tulip-like blooms, 3 inches in diameter, with a dark red 5-lobed calyx, 5 red petals and a mass of black-anthered stamens filling the corolla and surrounding a 5-part pistil. They fall in numbers, entire, and are devoured by antelopes.

The Fruits are large, pendulous capsules some 4 inches long and 2 inches wide, black or deep brown when ripe, splitting into five sections to release small black seeds embedded in a mass of silk-cotton. The pod shrinks in the ripening and the silk cotton is packed tight in it and expands in bulk enormously by hygroscopic action, carrying the seeds a great distance on the wind.

Uses.—The wood is used for making large and small drums, native stools used by women, basins, shoes and saddles and cattle troughs. The bark is used by women to impart a red colour to the teeth. Certain pagans make a sauce from the flowers, locally called “Kwungi.”

BORASSUS FLABELLIFER Linn. var. AETHIOPUM Warb.—Giginya. PALMACEAE.

This very well-known Palm inhabits marshes, the banks of streams and any well-watered hollow, and will grow, if introduced, on dry sandy soils. With the exception of the Dum Palm, Hyphaene Thebaica, it is the most northerly of the palms in Nigeria and is found in vast quantities in “fadamma.” It does not actually grow in the water, though it will survive an occasional immersion when grown, but occupies islands, banks and edges of marshy land as well as the banks of streams, lakes, etc. It reaches a height of over 80 feet, with a girth at the base of 6 feet, at breast height 4 feet 6 inches, and at the narrowest point 3 feet. The stem swells at about 30 feet and after the palm is about 50 years old narrows again, repeating the swelling process again and even a third time in very old palms. The rate of growth, except when cultivated, in which case it is quicker, is very slow. The seed germinates in a month and sends down a shoot from 2-4 feet deep into the ground. This shoot swells at the base and loses connection with the empty seed, and sends up a green shoot from the base, which forms the first leaf. In the root-bud stage it is eaten as a vegetable, called “muruchi” and thousands of seeds are planted for this purpose alone. The first leaf is a narrow blade, as are subsequent leaves, gradually broadening till the first frond appears about three years later, the stem appearing at ground level after some six or seven years. From then onward the growth is at the rate of from 12-18 inches a year, 50 year old palms being about 50-60 feet in height.

The Bark.—The stem is a smooth one after a number of years; the leaf scars, very marked when fresh, gradually fading away.

The Wood is heavy and hard, apt to splinter into separate fibres, but very durable above ground. It weighs about 50 lbs. a cubic foot. The wood of the male is more compact throughout than that of the female whose centre is looser, the outside only being really serviceable.

The Leaves are up to 12 feet long, fan-shaped, the segments V-shaped, joined for half their length, the stalk concave above and spiny on the margins. The sheath divides at the base before falling and remains for some time clasping the stem.