THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 369 



The sapwood is white, tinged with pinkish stripes, and 

 the heartwood pinkish-red, with very wide and numerous 

 medullary rays, which are most numerous, and in fact more 

 so than in any other tree, and are very typical of this 

 timber. The wood is soft, splits well, is of somewhat open 

 texture and rather fibrous grain. It planes up well with a 

 smooth surface, takes nails well, and saws well. It is liable 

 to be attacked by white ants. The sapwood is fairly narrow. 



It is a moderately fast-growing, shade-bearing, soil-protecting 

 and soil -improving tree. Natural regeneration only appears to be 

 slight, chiefly owing to the fact, perhaps, that most of the nuts 

 are gathered and eaten by the natives. It is somewhat exacting 

 with regard to soil. It appears to like one that is somewhat 

 rich, deep, moist and with good drainage. In waterlogged 

 areas it becomes stag-headed. No plantations have been 

 made of this tree. 



The timber has not been exported, not has it been cut for 

 local use. It appears, however, to be worthy of a trial as 

 a substitute for light cedar or mahogany, especially from wind 

 falls, which are not infrequent owing to the way it is left stand- 

 ing in the forests. 



Native Use. — The nuts are used by the natives, and are 

 considered very valuable, in the most out-of-the-way parts 

 of the forest, as a source of food. They used to be sold in 

 the Calabar market 250 for 3d. Further notes as to the oil- 

 bearing properties of this nut will be found in the section dealing 

 with the oil seeds and nuts. 



Combretaceae. 



Terminalia sp. Yellow Terminalia, Black-bark Terminalia. Idigbo, 

 Opepe, Epepe (Yoruba) ; Egoyn nebbi, Egoyn nikwi, Egoyn 

 lukan (Benin). 



According to the Yorubas this is the Idi of the forest. 



Distribution. — It is found in the Ondo and Benin provinces 

 of Nigeria. 



Chief Characteristics. — It has a slightly fissured bark, in- 

 creasing in age, light-brown in colour in youth, but darkening 

 with age, almost appearing black in the distance, rather forming 

 a criss-cross pattern. It flowers in May with small spikes or 

 thin, stiff racemes, each with little yellow balls of staminate 

 flowers. It has a compressed crown of two or three whorls 

 of branches, but not so typical as that of T. scutifera. It is, 

 however, much more widespreading, chiefly due to the fact 

 that the tree on the whole is shorter and stouter than T. 

 scutifera. The trunk is much more cylindrical, and the root 

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