254 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



size; it is also quicker growing than the male. The female 

 has stout, finger-thick, solid catkins, whereas the male has 

 thin, long, open catkins up to 6 inches long. The timber of 

 the male is darker brown and closer grained than that of the 

 female, and also harder. The sapwood is wider in the female 

 tree, but there is also a very wide difference between trees 

 of both genders when they are grown in the open, old farms, 

 or in dense, high forest, the latter yielding the hardest and 

 closest-grained timber. The crown is almost umbrella-shaped 

 and open, so that the leaves appear large in proportion, and 

 it is usually possible to see through it. Three or four large 

 limbs form the mainstay of it (see plate No. 37). The 

 yellow lenticels on the stem, especially in younger specimens, 

 and also on the red roots, are typical of the tree. The slash 

 is yellowish, with little red spots in it. A little white latex 

 flows out too. 



In proportion to the size of the tree the root spurns are 

 not very large, reaching 3 or 4 feet up the tree, and being well 

 rounded, do not spoil the shape of the base of the bole. In 

 older specimens the bark becomes brown, and finally almost 

 grey in colour, and scales off to a slight extent. Although it 

 forms very large side roots, it has a tap-root going to con- 

 siderable depth. The loose seeds are small and flat, being 

 not unlike those of alder, but rather larger and thinner. 



It is found in all the Southern Provinces of Nigeria, both 

 in the evergreen and mixed forest zones, where it is none too 

 prevalent. 



Timber. — Sapwood is yellowish white, and the heartwood 

 of a yellow brown to dark brown (oak to teak brown). It 

 is moderately hard, very durable and termite-proof. It does 

 not plane very well, being sometimes cross-grained ; it can, 

 however, be worked up to a smooth finish. The grain is rather 

 open and the pores very long. It has, however, an oily feel, 

 and a certain amount of sheen. It takes nails with difficulty, 

 splits moderately well and saws easily. It soon darkens on 

 exposure to the air and light, becoming in this respect much 

 darker than oak in a similar period. When seasoned properly 

 it does not warp excessively. If taken green from the forest 

 zone into a drier climate it will split. In the past a good deal 

 of timber has been used in this state. 



It is a moderately fast-growing, at first shade-bearing and 

 subsequently a light-demanding tree, with soil-protecting and 

 soil-improving qualities. It is deciduous for a few weeks in 

 the year, generally in February or March, but specimens vary 

 a great deal in this respect. Natural regeneration is very 



