THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 357 



(Brass) ; Okikopom (Ibibio) ; Enwan, Umpenek (Efik) ; Okut 

 Okot (Oban, Ekoi) ; Kuru (Ibo Owerri) ; Okut (Kwa). 



Chief Characteristics. — It is a very large tree, up to 6 feet 

 in diameter, with orange-coloured bark, when in the shade of 

 the evergreen forest where it is found, but this soon becomes 

 quite grey when exposed to the sun. The flowers are \vhite, 

 with five petals, and are very fragrant, smelling like musk, 

 covering the ground and scenting the forest in November 

 and December. In October and November the tree is very 

 conspicuous with its brilliant new red foliage, which almost 

 appears like flowers in the distance. On the banks of the 

 Calabar River, above the town of the same name, this is seen 

 to advantage. The fruit is winged, but with one wing twice 

 as long as the other and also broader ; the seed is sharply pointed 

 and almost conical in section, and not so meaty as that of 

 L. alata. The crown is spherical, but open ; the branches are 

 very twisted and reminiscent of oak. The trunk reaches a 

 length of 90 feet and is almost perfectly cylindrical in shape, 

 with only the slightest indication of spurns at the base. 



Distribution. — It is found in the Abeokuta, Jebu, Ode, Benin, 

 Owerri, Ogoja (?) and Calabar provinces of Nigeria. It is one 

 of the commonest trees in the very moist parts of the ever- 

 green forest zone. 



Timber. — The sapwood is whitish red, but the heartwood 

 is of a dull red colour with large, long, open pores, partially 

 filled with siliceous salts. This often gives the Avood an almost 

 speckled appearance. In a tree of 12 feet girth, the sapwood 

 is usually only 3 or 4 inches thick, making it a very full- 

 wooded tree and thus reducing the amount of wood wasted 

 in squaring the logs. It planes well, with a smooth, shiny 

 surface. Strong shoots often come up from the stump, though 

 owing to the natural seed distribution being good, this latter 

 is the chief means of reproduction. It is a light-lover, with 

 a natural tendency to grow straight up. It is a sloAV-growing 

 tree, and the leaves, nearly a foot long and almost tongue- 

 shaped, are very large for such a hard- wooded tree. Even 

 when planted 16 feet apart it grows up straight, with only three 

 or four perpendicular branches or even only a fork in the 

 stem. It resists white ants, and the teredo worm does 

 not bore into logs when lying in the water. It is almost gre- 

 garious in habit, usually groups being found in one locality, 

 or, as in the moister regions, it is next to mahogany the com- 

 monest tree found in the forest. It will withstand floods — 

 in fact, there is an island several square miles in extent in the 

 Oshun River covered with only this species of tree. It is also 



