THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 281 



so that it has not been thoroughly tested as to its value as an 

 export timber. 

 Isoberlinia Doka (Kew). 



It is found in the Ogoja, Abeokuta and Owerri provinces 

 of Nigeria. 



It is a medium-sized tree with rather large, widespreading 

 pinnate leaves. It is one of the few trees that are gregarious 

 in habit, groups from half an acre to an acre in extent being 

 found. The tree is used for house-building and withstands 

 a certain amount of fire, as it grows at the edge of the dry-zone 

 forest. 

 Berlinia acuminata. Red Oak. Apado (Abeokuta), Ewon Pala 

 (Ikale), Adugbin (Ibadan) (Yoruba) ; Ekpagoi (Benin) ; Ajia 

 (Ibo, Asaba) ; Obuba (New Calabar) ; Hanabali (Oban, Ekoi). 



This is a common tree in all the Southern Provinces of 

 Nigeria. Although it is found most frequently in the 

 evergreen forest zone, a small, bush-like variety is also 

 found in the open deciduous forest. The most conspicuous 

 features of this tree are the large foot-shaped unripe pods ; 

 these stick out, isolated, at right angles to the general 

 direction of the surface of the ground — this makes them appear 

 all the more prominent and most odd in appearance. When 

 the pods burst, the large flat beans are released, and each 

 side of the pod curls up, but appears speckled white with round 

 dull spots along the middle. The flowers are white, nearly 

 2 inches across, with one red streak in the centre. In the 

 evergreen forest zone these flowers do not seem so conspicuous, 

 but in the dry zone the tree is covered with blossom, making 

 it one of the most beautiful. In the heavy forest zone the 

 bole reaches the length of nearly 80 feet and the girth of over 

 20. With its smooth, shiny grey bark, at the first glance it is 

 not unlike a beech-tree. The root spurns are usually quite 

 small, and do not extend beyond 2 feet up the stem. The 

 slash is white and of a yellow colour on the inner edge. The 

 leaves are pinnate, with one odd leaf at the end, being usually 

 nearly 3 inches long ; the total length of the leaf is often over 

 1 foot. The freshly ripened beans are almost square in shape, 

 flat, and nearly a quarter of an inch thick. Each side of the pod 

 is usually the size of an average man's foot, and sometimes 

 larger ; it is also not unlike it in shape, but the curve where 

 the instep should be is very slight. The crown is spherical 

 and very large, often occupying one-third of the total height 

 of the tree. The foliage is comparatively dense, and it is not 

 possible to see through the top of it. The tree loses 

 its leaves for a very short time each year. In the dry zone 



