THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 405 



Sarcocephalus sp. Swamp Opepe. Oppepera (Yoruba) ; Eben 

 Obiache (Benin). Perhaps the same as the foregoing species. 

 Morinda sp. Brimstone Wood. 



Ekiti district, Ondo province. 

 Morinda lucida. Brimstone Wood. Oruwo (Yoruba) ; Obiache 

 (Benin). 



Found in the Yoruba and Benin country. 

 Morinda longiflora. Ekiti Morinda. 



Found in the Ekiti district, Mamu Reserve. 

 Pausinystalia sp. 



It is found in the Eastern Calabar province of Nigeria. 

 It is a medium-sized tree found growing in old farms. It has 

 globular-shaped flowers with yellowish-red anthers, making it 

 very pretty and conspicuous. It has a hard, yellowish-white wood. 

 Saccoglottis Gabunensis. Mahogany, Tala. Ugu (Benin) ; Attalla 

 (Jekri) ; Edat (Efik) ; Tala (Brass) ; Tala (New Calabar) ; 

 Edat (Oban, Ekoi). 



It is a large tree, attaining a girth of 15 feet and a height 

 of 150 feet. Nearly always found on swampy ground, or anyhow 

 where the rainfall is high, as, for instance, in the Oban district. 

 One of the first trees to be seen in the forest immediately 

 behind the mangrove swamps. The bark is roughly fissured 

 like elm, but more regularly, and the slash is red. The fruit 

 is an indehiscent nut with small nodules on it, about the size 

 of a walnut, which exudes a liquid not unlike honey. Bees 

 often frequent the tree for that reason. A reddish sap exudes 

 when the tree is cut. 



It is found in the Benin, Warri, Owerri and Calabar 

 provinces of Nigeria. 



The wood is hard and dark-red, with a fairly close grain, 

 though easy to work. The sapwood is usually very narrow 

 and yellowish-red. 



It is evidently a shade-bearer, and stands a good deal of 

 shade in its youth. Natural regeneration is fairly good where 

 the rainfall is high. It seems a moderately fast grower, though 

 no actual measurements have yet been taken. It is almost 

 gregarious, especially in Oban. In 1906 it was valued in the 

 Liverpool market at 3d. to 6d. a superficial foot as a mahogany 

 of mild texture and fairly good colour. It has, however, not 

 been used by the Public Works Department. 



Native Use. — In the Benin, Warri and Calabar provinces 

 the bark is stripped off in rolls about 3 feet long and sold for 

 making gin bitter, by placing it in the liquid. A bundle of 

 bark is sold for 5s. at Calabar. In the Degema and Brass 

 districts it is one of the common canoe trees. 



