THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 353 



trunk is very cylindrical in shape, showing a well formed 

 figure, but not so good as either that of Agba or Gum Copal. 

 It is only broken up by the root buttresses, which often reach 

 10 to 12 feet from the ground before they merge into the stem ; 

 the bark is grey, sometimes almost white and almost smooth ; 

 in old age, shallow fissures sometimes form. The slash is 

 greenish-white, and a little watery sap moistens the cut after 

 a short interval. The crown is ovally spherical and occupies 

 over one-third of the height of the tree. The flowers are 

 mottled pink and white. 



The sapwood is white and the heartwood is the same colour, 

 with no great distinction between them except the greater 

 dryness of the heartwood. The timber is soft and not 

 durable, and is not termite-proof ; it does not split very 

 well, saws easily, and planes fairly well and takes nails 

 comparatively well ; does not plane up to a very smooth 

 surface. 



It is a very rapid-growing, at first shade-bearing, 

 and during the last few years a light-loving tree ; it has 

 soil-protecting and soil-improving qualities. It is deciduous 

 for a short time each year ; flowers in February or March, 

 and the seeds are borne towards the end of the rainy 

 season. Natural regeneration is very good ; it sprouts very 

 strongly from the stump. It is really somewhat exacting as 

 to soil, liking a moist soil of good depth and with plenty 

 of drainage ; it will not stand in waterlogged ground, 

 though an occasional flood does not hurt it. Plantations 

 have been made with this tree, and the growth thus far has 

 been very rapid ; self-sown seedlings, however, show greater 

 development in the same period of time. 



Locally, the root flanges are used for making doors and 

 occasionally the tree has been cut for planks ; it is said that 

 the timber is not supposed to be quite so durable as that of 

 T Johnsonii, but in reality there is very little difference between 

 them. 

 I'riplochiton n. sp. Bush Maple. Obechi (Benin). 



This tree was found in 1906 in the forest near the Anwai, 

 not far from Onitsha Olona, in the Asaba district of the Benin 

 province, and is very similar in habit and growth to the other 

 two species. 

 Buettneria. Obechi (Benin). 



Benin. 

 Pterygota. Poroporo (Yoruba). 



It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. It is 

 not very prevalent in the mixed forests of the Olokemeji 

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