298 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



Dalbergia hostilis (Benth.). Yoruba Blackwood. Ogan Oga 

 (Yoruba). 



This Dalbergia is fairly common in the Olokeraeji Reserve, 

 in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. 

 Copaifera sp. True Benin Gum Copal. 



This tree is found near the Uhi, close to the source of the 

 Ossiomo Eiver, Benin province. This apparenth' is rather an 

 uncommon tree. The Benin natives do not know how to tap 

 the tree for gum, nor how to use the gum. 

 Cf. Copaifera. En3'enewu. Enj^enewu (Yoruba). 



Found in the Yoruba country. 

 Copaifera sp. Boji Hills Copaifera. 



So far it has not been tapped for the gum, the local people 

 apparently not knowing its value. 

 Bauhinia rufescens (Kew). 



Found in the Oyo province. 

 Bauhinia reticulata (D.C.). Dry-zone Bauhinia. Abafe (Yoruba). 



This Bauhinia grows in dry, open country. It is a small, 

 spreading tree bearing white flowers. 



Uses. — The fibrous bark is used for tying, and an infusion 

 from the leaves is used in coagulating rubber latex. The 

 stem is occasionally used for making house-posts. It is a fire- 

 resisting tree and shades the soil. 

 Bauhinia Thonningii (Schum.). 



This is a small shrub-like tree of the upper part of the 



Benin province of Nigeria. It is found near Agbede. It has 



red flowers. The sap of this tree has sometimes been used 



for coagulating rubber. 



Physostigma venosum. Calabar Bean or Ordeal Bean. Eseri (Efik). 



It is found growing in the Calabar district. The seed is 

 poisonous ; used in ordeals and medicinally. 



The most noticeable feature is the furrow (about J inch 

 wide and deep) in the upper side of the bean. None of the 

 closely allied Mimosa species show this peculiarity. 

 Entada scandens. Sword Bean, Match-box Bean, Mackay Bean. 

 Kakoba, Akhuro (seed) (Benin). 



This large creeper is found in the Benin and Calabar 

 provinces of Nigeria. It is not verj^ prevalent. The most re- 

 markable features about it are the stoutness of the stem, which 

 attains a diameter of nearly 1 foot and the total length of over 

 100 feet, and its immense pod, which is often over 3 feet in 

 length. The pod is divided into segments, each nearl}- 2 inches 

 square, and each containing one large bean, almost a square 

 in shape, 1| inches and nearly f inch thick. These beans have 

 occasionally been used for making match-boxes, for which they 



