210 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



Adansonia digitata, B. Juss. Kuka ; " Baobab." 



A characteristic tree of the dry savannah regions, often grouped 

 in inhabited areas, with enormously stout stems, but in height limited 

 to 40 to 60 feet. Specimens of 30 to 40 feet girth are not quite un- 

 common, the swollen stem, with soft, spongy wood, being an adaptation 

 to a dry climate, by storing water to meet excessive transpiration 

 by the leaves. 



The bark is smooth and often has a shiny purplish tinge. Apart 

 from fibre from both bark and wood, the dry fruit pulp and the seeds 

 are prepared in various ways as food and drink. Large specimens 

 are still found at Maradi, north of the Sokoto boundary, but chiefly 

 stunted trees are met with at Zinder. 



Sterculia tomentosa, G. et P. (Sterculiacese). Kukuki. 



A member of the semi-evergreen forests and common also in the 

 dry zone as a medium-sized tree with soft, palmate-shaped leaves and 

 pods four or five together, splitting to expose the black seeds with 

 yellow arils. A watery juice from the bark refreshes thirsty travellers 

 and a kind of gum tragacanth exudes from the trunk. 



Hannoa undulata, Planch. (Simarubeae). Namijin gwabsa or Takan- 



dar giwa. (One of two species called by the latter name, vide 



Cussonia.) 



A common tree of no great size in the savannah forest. The leaves 



are pinnate, with five to seven leaflets on long stalks, the flowers, in 



creamy, fragrant panicles, appearing in October or November, and the 



fruit is a black plum with unpleasant taste. 



Irvingia Smithii, Hook. fil. 



A tree of evergreen and mixed deciduous forests which invades 

 the ravines and fringing belts in the savannah region as far at least 

 as Kontagora. In the Benue region it is a fairly large tree of 40 feet 

 or more, often gregarious, as in a patch of moist forest opposite Katsina 

 Allah, along with Pterocarpus esculentus. The scarlet fruits are known 

 as Goron ruwa or Goron biri (i.e. Water or Monkey Kola), and are 

 eaten by monkeys. 



Balanites JEgyptiaca, Del. Aduwa ; " Desert Date." 



Typical of the Soudan and of the northern drier provinces of Nigeria 

 and extending into French territory ; characterized by its bifoliate 

 deciduous leaves, spiny habit in dry soil and evergreen bark. The 

 yellow oval fruit has a thin layer of sugary, bitter-sweet pulp, and the 

 kernel yields Betu oil. 



Boswellia odorata, Hutch., and B. Dalzielii, Hutch. (Burseraceae). 

 Hano or Ararabi. 

 Two new species of " Frankincense Tree," yielding a fragrant 



