348 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



it is found there is a comparatively large number, though it 

 is not gregarious in habit. 



It was stated to be of no commercial value in the Liverpool 

 market in 1906, but in a subsequent report it was said to be 

 worth Is. to Is. 6d. a cubic foot, as walnut, though there must 

 have been some mistake in the name. 



Native Use. — The mushrooms which grow on its stem after 

 it is cut down are used for soup. These are known as Epweperu. 

 Sterculia tomentosa. Okagbo (Yoruba) ; Ukpiwenwan (Benin). 



This tree is found in the Abeokuta and Benin provinces. 

 It reaches a height of from 40 to 50 feet. The fruit is ripe in 

 December and January ; it is kidney-shaped and covered with 

 a dense collection of very fine reddish hairs. It grows in 

 clusters. 

 Sterculia sp. Iwu (Yoruba). 



It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria and is a 

 medium-sized tree which yields a white wood which is none 

 too hard nor soft. 

 Sterculia tragacantha. African Tragacanth. Owun, Omunu, Omar, 

 Ogidu (?) (Yoruba) ; Oporipor, Iporipor, Okoko (Benin). 



Chief Characteristics. — It shows a brown slash when cut. 

 The bark is very fibrous and the white sapwood is full of large 

 open pits, which gives the wood the appearance of being entirely 

 fibrous. It yields a pink-coloured gum, which hardens after 

 a few days. It bears large oval-shaped leaves, which tend 

 to be bunched at the end of the twigs. The pods are less than 

 half the size of Sterculia cordifolia and are covered with light- 

 brown velvety hairs on the outside. These pods open, making 

 each appear coracle-shaped, with eight to ten small brown 

 seeds attached to the bottom rib of the pod. The foliage looks 

 almost grey-white from underneath. The bole of the younger 

 trees is greyish-white and usually for 30 to 40 feet free of branches. 

 It reaches a girth of about 8 feet. The wood is white and 

 softish, planes easily and works up to a neat finish. Silvi- 

 culturally, the tree stands between the light-lovers on one hand 

 and the shade-bearers on the other, although it is usually seen 

 growing comparatively free from other than natural shade. 

 It does, in fact, stand a considerable amount of shade in the 

 younger stages of growth as well as later, when it may be over- 

 grown by larger growing trees. It is usually found in groups 

 at the edge of the forest. 



It sprouts again from the stump, but almost each year 

 large crops of seeds are borne on the tree, and this would seem 

 to be the chief method of reproduction. 



The tree has not been cut for local use, nor has it been 



