354 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



Reserve, and is a large tree, 8 to 10 feet in girth. The wood 

 is said by the natives to be durable. 

 Cola cauliflora (F.). Cola Mahogany. Isienwe (Benin). 



It is common in the Benin province of Nigeria, in the 

 mixed deciduous forest zone, where it is not very prevalent. 

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



The seed is a small nut. The leaves are very dark and 

 are comparatively large. The bole reaches a length of about 

 20 feet. 



The sapwood is whitish and the heartwood of a red-brown, 

 similar to mahogany. The texture is, however, not quite so 

 fine and a little more fibrous. It planes fairly well and takes 

 nails fairly easily, but it does not split well. It is durable 

 and is said to be termite-proof. It is a somewhat slow-growing, 

 shade-bearing, soil-protecting and soil-improving tree. Natural 

 regeneration is only moderate, and it sprouts slightly from 

 the stump. It is somewhat exacting as to soil, and is usually 

 found in a loamy sand, with plenty of moisture and depth. 



It was valued at 2d. to 2^. a superficial foot as mahogany 

 of fair character in the Liverpool market in 1906. But since 

 then no more has been felled or exported. 



The natives use it as firewood in the Benin country. It 

 has not been felled for local use. 

 Cola laurifolia. Laurel-leaved Cola. Foma (Yoruba). 



It is an uncommon tree, found in the Olokemeji Reserve 

 of the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. A small tree with small 

 flowers. 

 Cola acuminata (Beauv.). Common Cola. Obi Abata (Yoruba) ; 

 Eve (Benin). 



It is a common tree of the Calabar, Ogoge, Owerri, Warri, 

 Benin, Ondo, Ibadan and Abeokuta provinces of Nigeria. 



It is the ordinary Cola of the Benin villages, but it is also 

 found in the forest. In other parts of the country it has 

 been planted along the sides of the roads leading into Egbado, 

 Jebu, Ode, Ondo, Ikale and Ilesha villages. 



Always standing in the shade and with a heavy evergreen 

 foliage, the cream-coloured flowers with a pink streak on each 

 petal show up very clearly when the tree comes into bloom 

 in February or March. According to the native ideas, the tree 

 must never be pruned, nor, in fact, should it be cut either 

 partially or wholly under any circumstances. However, in 

 passing to and from their farms, boys and young men often chip 

 the trunk of the tree with a matchet. This, they say, has the 

 effect of making it produce more fruit ; otherwise the tree 

 always looks very dirty, and often the trunk and the branches 



