286 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



by white ants. The tree is a shade-bearer. Natural repro- 

 duction from the seed is good, it being distributed often by 

 water. It also sprouts from the stump. A few root shoots 

 also appear. The tree has not been cut for local use nor has 

 it been used for export. The natives use the wood for making 

 posts and doors. 

 Cylicodiscus Gabunensis. African Greenheart. Osho, Aja, Iji (II.), 

 Ajaigi (Yoruba) ; Okan (Benin). 



Distribution. — In the Abeokuta, Ondo, Benin, Warri, Owerri, 

 Calabar provinces of Nigeria. 



Chief Characteristics. — It is a very large tree of the ever- 

 green forest zone, attaining a height of 200 feet and a girth 

 of 30 feet. It is armed in its earlier growth up to the pole 

 stage, when all the brown thorns disappear. Its long, brown 

 pods, up to 3 feet long and 1| inches wide, opening from one 

 side only, with their long, thin, papery seeds, are most typical 

 of the tree. 



Compared to its size the bark is thin, and in old age it is 

 inclined to scale off in small pieces. In the distance it looks 

 practically smooth. This is one of the most gigantic and 

 impressive trees of the forest, with its enormous bole stretching 

 cylindrically up amongst and over the other trees, with a 

 large, widespreading, somewhat flatly shaped spherical crown. 

 The leaves are pinnate, with three of four pairs of little ovate 

 pinnae, with one odd one at the end. The flowers are minute, 

 forming little, thin, knitting-needle-thick spikes of yellow 

 bloom. These last only a few days, and only once in thirteen 

 years have I seen the flower. The tree and pod are unmistak- 

 able, even when it is a large one. The numerous brown pods 

 hang down amongst the foliage and appear to be much longer 

 than those of any other Leguminous tree. This feature alone 

 distinguishes it from any similar species. The bole divides up 

 into a few large limbs and many small branches, making the 

 foliage lighter and thinner than many other Leguminous trees, 

 but not so thin as that of Piptadenia Africana. The root 

 spurns are very slight and rounded, merging into the bole 

 of the tree 1 foot to 3 feet above the surface of the ground. At 

 the base of the bole the bark is sometimes cut off by the 

 natives for " Ju-ju " purposes, and then an additional swelling 

 appears there. 



The sapwood is white and narrow, the heartwood greenish- 

 brown when fresh, and yellowish-brown after it has lain in the 

 forest for a few years. It is very hard — in fact, one of the very 

 hardest of African timbers. Under cover it is very durable. 

 In the open it does not last so long. It is termite-proof. The 



