262 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



It is usually dried and sold in the native markets, several 

 bunches for a pennj'. By some it is almost looked upon as 

 a medicine. 

 Xylopia parviflora (Eng. and Diels). Small-flowering Negro 

 Pepper. Sesedo, Issa oku (Yoruba) ; Aghako or Oziza (?) 

 (Benin). 



This tree is found in the Abeokuta and Benin provinces 

 of Nigeria, where it is none too prevalent. It is a medium- 

 sized tree with a very straight, thin and tall bole. Except 

 for its size it is very much like X. Mthiopica ; the fruit is much 

 smaller and scarcely to be seen from the ground. The timber 

 is grey-white, and the heartwood, though occasionally a light 

 brown, is scarcely to be distinguished from the sapwood. It 

 is hard, durable, and said to be termite-proof. It does not 

 take nails easily, nor does it split well, but it saws compara- 

 tively easily. Natural reproduction by seeds appears to be 

 poor. It scarcely sprouts from the stump. It is a shade- 

 bearing, soil-protecting and soil-improving tree. 



The timber has not been exported. The bark and roots 

 are used medicinally. 



It is used locally for house-building, as verandah-posts 

 or supports for the roof. It has considerable tensile strength 

 and stands compression better still. 

 Anona Senegalensis (Pers.). Wild Custard Apple. Abo (Yoruba). 



This is found in the Oyo and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. 

 It is a small, shrub-like tree, with a short stem of about 4 or 

 5 feet, and has a very oval leaf, almost ovate in shape. It 

 bears a yellow fruit which divides up into the typical segments 

 common to this family. It resembles the Sugar Apple, has 

 a delicious taste, and the fruit is most refreshing on a hot day 

 at the end of the dry season. The tree is fire-resisting. Being 

 deciduous, it is not a soil-improving tree. It is soil-exacting, 

 but is also found in rocky localities. The tree is not very 

 prolific, but sprouts very strongly from the stump and to a 

 less extent with root suckers. The small timber is occasionally 

 used for house-building. 

 Anona palustris (Foster). Alligator Apple. Afe (Yoruba). 



The wood is supposed to be soft, and to have been intro- 

 duced into the country some years ago. 



It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. The 

 fruit is edible, the foliage dense and heavy. In the dry season 

 the dew condenses on the leaves sCnd towards morning drips 

 off on to the ground, thus keeping the immediate vicinity of 

 the tree quite moist. The leaves, when decayed, make a rich 

 humus. It is one of the most valuable soil-improving trees. 



