THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 351 



it into rof)e, which is used for tying loads of Cola or other 

 produce. When freshly made it is soft and pliable, but 

 when it is dry the fibre becomes very harsh and rather difficult 

 to tie. 



The wood is used for floats for fishing on the Niger. 

 Heritiera sp ?. Oviegikwe (Benin). 



It is found in the Benin and Ondo (?) provinces of Nigeria. 



The tree is large, reaching a girth of about 12 feet. The 

 seed is papery and full of air, so that when trodden upon it 

 collapses. The leaf is of medium size, more or less pinnate. 

 The timber is white and soft ; termites attack it. It has not 

 been exported or used for local buildings. 



Native Use. — The leaf is used medicinally, and the timber 

 is used for making drums (the frame) by hollowing out the 

 trunk of a tree. It is also used as walls for a temporary house 

 (when dried or not) ; for this purpose it is split in pieces. 

 Heritiera sp. ?. Igoso (Benin). 



It is an uncommon tree of the Benin province of Nigeria. 

 It is found in the evergreen and mixed deciduous forests. 

 The fruit is considerably smaller than Oviegikwe. 



The natives apparently have no use for this tree. How- 

 ever, timber obtained from trees of this genus has proved so 

 useful and durable that a trial of the wood of this species seems 

 advisable. 

 Triplochiton Johnsonii (Ch. Wright). African Maple, Bush Maple. 

 Arere (Yoruba) ; Obechi (Benin). 



This is one of the common trees of the Abeokuta, Ondo 

 and Benin provinces of Nigeria ; it is found in the mixed 

 deciduous forest zone, more especially in the moister regions 

 of these forests. Like T. Nigericum, it is one of the largest 

 of all the forest trees, reaching a height of over 120 feet and 

 a girth of 25 feet. The leaf has five lobes, and is thus dis- 

 tinguishable from T. Nigericum, which has seven. The bole 

 is long and clean and most cylindrical in shape ; the buttresses, 

 as a rule, do not reach such a great height as in the case 

 of T. Nigericum. On the whole the bark is smoother and, 

 especially in the younger specimens, almost shiny. The flowers 

 and fruit are very similar to T. Nigericum. 



The timber is white, both heartwood and sapwood, and 

 shows a considerable amount of elasticity ; rather liable to warp 

 when seasoned. It works up well and takes a satiny sheen. 

 The grain is comparatively fine — in fact, a little finer than that 

 of T. Nigericum ; the pores are long and very narrow ; it 

 works up well with a plane, takes nails easily, does not split 

 well ; it saws with great ease ; it is not termite-proof. If freshly 



