THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 403 



The bole is very straight, and not unlike that of real African 

 Oak in appearance. The leaves are rounded and moderately 

 large, and inclined to be leathery in texture, with two stipules 

 at the base. In the young seedlings the stem is more quad- 

 rangular in shape than round, and there are a few almost 

 straighter furrows running verticallj^ up it. 



It tends to spread with the opening up of the evergreen 

 forest. The root spurns are very slight and round, merging 

 into the stem a foot or so above the ground. The slash is 

 yellowish-white, and a rather dirty colour. Mucilage-like latex 

 gradually exudes from the cut. 



Timber. — The wood is very durable indeed, both for exposed 

 places and for interior work. It is moderately hard, a little 

 open and fibrous in grain, of a yellow to orange colour, 

 with slight variations in its distribution through the wood. It 

 planes well and saws easily ; splits fairly well, takes nails, and 

 does not warp or shrink very much. There is only a slight 

 difference in colour between the sapwood and heartwood, but 

 the sapwood is not quite so durable. It is termite-proof. It 

 is usually very straight -grained, free of knots and other internal 

 defects — in fact, it is one of the cleanest of all the African 

 timbers. 



It is a very fast-growing, at first slightly shade-bearing and 

 later light-loving tree, which thoroughly protects and enriches 

 the soil with its leaf fall. In fact, after the first two years it 

 is very impatient of shade, and grows very slowly, if it is at all 

 under large trees. In suitable places natural regeneration is 

 very good. Fair crops of seeds are borne almost every year. In 

 some places, notably north of the Ikoha in the Benin province, 

 it is almost gregarious in habit. It sprouts well from the stump. 

 Here again, unless there is sufficient light, it does not grow 

 rapidly, and even tends to die down. In the nursery, seeds 

 generate readily, but often fall a prey to the Duika, which eat 

 the young seedlings. The tree does not stand transplanting 

 very well, as it throws back its development very considerably. 

 Small plantations have been made in one or two places. Close 

 planting appears to be the correct method, as the branches 

 are rather persistent and liable to form knots or places of 

 decay in the stem, if they do not drop off when they are quite 

 small. 



In 1906 samples of this timber were sold as a hardwood in 

 Liverpool market, where it was considered to show little or 

 no merit. However, since that date there have been increased 

 demands for all good timbers, so that it seems worthy of a 

 further trial. Locally it has been used for making canoes, or 



