THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 389 



It sprouts slightly from the stump, though the shoots do not 

 seem to have much strength. 



The timber has not yet been exported, though its valuable 

 quality should assure it of a market. Sample planks used 

 at Olokemeji proved most durable. 



Native Use. — The fruit is used by the Yorubas for divining 

 the future. 



Loganiaceae. 



Strychnos densiflora (Baill.). African Strychnos Tree. Attako 

 (Yoruba) ; Egbeda (Benin). 



It is found in the dry-zone forest of the Ibadan and 

 Benin provinces of Nigeria, where it seems to be very 

 prevalent. 



Chief Characteristics. — It is a small tree or shrub, up to 

 12 feet high, with small leaves and very hard wood. 



It is of slow growth, but on the whole is a shade-bearer 

 and soil-protecting and soil-improving tree. Natural regenera- 

 tion aj)pears to be poor. 



It has not been planted. 



Apparently the seeds have not yet been examined as to 

 their value. The timber is too small for export or local use, 

 except for hut-building. 



Use. — The Benin natives use the stem for making snares 

 for Duika and the branches for making brooms, as they are 

 very tough. 

 Anthocleista nohilis. Ogugu, Sapho, Apa Oro (Yoruba) ; Orri- 

 mogungun, Oriweni (Benin). 



It is found in the Ibadan, Abeokuta, Benin and Ogoja 

 provinces of Nigeria. 



It has huge soft leaves, and is one of the first plants to appear 

 on a clearing in the dry-zone or mixed forests. In old age 

 the leaf is much smaller, and the mass of white flowers along 

 the uppermost branches is most typical of the tree. It is often 

 almost gregarious, and in most places more than one tree is found 

 in the immediate neighbourhood. Reaching a girth of about 

 3 feet, its stem does not exceed 20 feet in height. There 

 are usually two or three main branches into which it divides. 

 The wood is soft and white. 



It is a light-loving, rapid-growing tree, which is soil-pro- 

 tecting and soil-improving in youth, but is too open in crown 

 after a few years. It should, however, prove a useful nurse 

 for superior species in the dry zone. 



Native Use. — Firewood in places where wood is scarce. 



