S81 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



purpurea. It is a larger tree, though, than the last named. 

 It likes the dense forest with a deep, damp soil. 



In proportion the sapwood is white and very wide. 



The tree is slow-growing, shade-bearing, with soil-protecting 

 and soil-improving qualities. Natural regeneration is weak. 



The timber has not been exported, nor has it been sawn 

 up for local use. 



Native Use. — Firewood. 

 Diosypros mespiliformis. Monkey Guava or Yoruba Ebony, Kanran, 

 Etini (Yoruba) ; Igedudu (Benin). 



From the similarity of its fruit to a medlar it obtains its 

 botanical name. 



It is found in the Abeokuta and Ibadan provinces of Nigeria, 

 in the mixed deciduous forest zone. In places such as the 

 Olokemeji Forest Reserve and neighbourhood it is very pre- 

 valent and almost gregarious in habit. As regards height, and 

 almost always as regards girth, it is the largest of almost all the 

 ebony-trees, with the exception of one species found near the 

 Niger, reaching a girth of over 14 feet and a bole length of 70 feet. 

 At the pole stage, and as it gets older, the bark is evenly fissured, 

 vertically and horizontally, breaking up into small black-edged 

 sections of about 2 inches long and J inch wide. Until it is much 

 over 2 feet in girth the cortex is smooth, dark-green or black. 

 After this it becomes rather rough, with small fissures. Although 

 often very cylindrical in shape, the bole sometimes has very con- 

 siderable taper — in fact, more so than many other trees. The 

 branches come out almost at right angles to the stem and are very 

 persistent, still remaining as short snags for many years after they 

 have been broken off by storms or other agencies. The leaves are 

 smallish and lanceolate in shape, and almost appear to be silvery 

 on the under surface and very dark green on the upper surface. 

 The thinner branches appear silvery-grey, though they are 

 very similar, but thinner in comparison to M. multinervis, 

 which are found in the same locality growing side by side. 

 The leaf has a few fine veins. The fruit is flatly spherical, and 

 is like a little medlar with its russet-brown rough surface and 

 the dried-up sepals of the flower on it. It is, however, larger 

 than than of Multinervis. 



The sapwood is white and narrow and the heartwood dark- 

 brown to black, sometimes even green-black. It is very hard — in 

 fact, almost the hardest of all African woods, with perhaps 

 the exception of Yoruba Ironwood, Red Ironwood, and African 

 Greenheart. It splits fairly well. It is inclined to be brittle, 

 especially in timber from larger specimens, planes well and 

 saws well, but is difficult to nail. It is termite-proof. Occa- 



