THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 341 



BUghia sapida. Akee or Akee Apple. Ishin Ishin-oka (Yoruba) ; 

 Ukpi nufwa (Benin). 



It is found in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria. It has 

 an edible aril, which is yellow in colour. It is cooked before 

 being consumed. It is a very ornamental tree, and bears 

 fruit when quite young, which, being orange-coloured, looks 

 very pretty amongst the green foliage. 



The fruit is more or less triangular in shape, and when ripe 

 splits open up to the base, releasing three black nuts with a 

 yellow aril. The fruit is orange-coloured with a pink flush. 

 It is a medium-sized tree, reaching a girth of about 6 feet and 

 a height of about 60 feet. The bark is smooth and grey in 

 colour and comparatively thin. The crown is oval in shape 

 and much more open than is the case with Phialodiscus sp. 

 It has a moderately large pinnate leaf with two pairs of pinnae. 

 The flowers are small and comparatively inconspicuous. It 

 is found chiefly in the mixed deciduous forest zone. It is 

 most frequently seen in the neighbourhood of villages, where 

 it has probably been planted. 



The sapwood is white and the heartwood brown, moder- 

 ately hard, durable and termite-proof. It planes well, though 

 occasionally it is cross-grained. The wood is of fine texture 

 and has a certain amount of sheen. It saws well, but does 

 not split easily. It takes nails only moderately well. It 

 tends to darken a little on exposure to the air. 



This tree is moderately fast-growing, at first shade-bearing 

 and subsequently light-demanding. It is also a soil- 

 protecting and soil -improving tree. It appears to like com- 

 paratively rich soil, though it may also be seen on poor ground, 

 where it does not thrive. Natural regeneration is not good, 

 chiefly owing to the fact that many animals eat the seeds, 

 besides human beings. It will bear fruit in the fifth year, 

 more especially from stump shoots. It sprouts well from the 

 stump and stands a great deal of pruning. 



The timber has not been cut for export, and only occasionally 

 has it been sawn up for local use. It is, however, worthy of 

 further attention as a local building timber. As an ornamental 

 tree it is worthy of a place in a large garden. With its open 

 crown it is a comparatively clean tree, and does not harbour 

 flies and insects. 



Native Use. — In places of timber scarcity it is occasionally 

 used for house-poles. The aril of the fruit is eaten after being 

 cooked, but apparently this custom is much more prevalent in 

 the West Indies amongst the descendants of the African slaves. 

 In many parts of Nigeria it is quite unknown as an edible fruit. 



