406 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



Mitragyne macrophyllum. False Opepe. Biirokossa, Bulokossa, 

 Ugbodokossa (Benin) ; Ebar (Brass) ; Ebar (New Calabar) ; 

 Ubuen (Efik). 



It is found in the Abeokuta, Ondo, Benin, Warri, Owerri 

 and Calabar provinces of Nigeria. 



It is a large tree, attaining a girth of over 12 feet and a height 

 of over 100 feet. It has a very large leaf. The tree is often 

 more or less gregarious, more especially in the moister or almost 

 swampy parts of the evergreen forest zone. The bark is of 

 a dull-green colour, comparatively thin, and only slightly fissured 

 in a large tree. 



The sapwood is yellowish-white and the heartwood of a pale 

 yellow colour. It is almost a hardwood, does not split well, 

 planes up smoothly and saws comparatively easily. It hardens 

 considerably on seasoning and is very durable under cover, but 

 not so much on exposure to the air. The dense foliage makes 

 a thick layer of humus under the trees, as a few of the leaves 

 fall off each year. It is thus a soil-improving and soil-protecting 

 tree. It would probably be found to make a good mixture, 

 in groups of about half an acre in extent, with mahogany in 

 the evergreen forest zone. In the Brass district it is one of 

 the commonest trees which is used for making canoes ; it has 

 also occasionally been sawn up for planks. It has not yet 

 been exported to England, but at any rate locally it should 

 command a wider use in house-building of all kinds. 

 Mitragyne Africanum. Akpakossa (Benin). 



It is found in the Benin, Ondo, Warri and Calabar pro- 

 vinces of Nigeria. 



It is a somewhat common tree on the borderland of the 

 mixed deciduous forest and the dry-zone vegetation. The 

 tree is of small size, attaining a girth of about 6 feet and a 

 bole length of 25 feet ; the leaf is very large, but does not reach 

 the size of M. macrophyllum. It is most frequently found in the 

 swampy places at the edge of the deciduous forest ; like the 

 sister tree, it is more or less gregarious, though the groups are 

 usually not very large. 



The timber is of a dull yellowish-white colour, and 

 planes well ; it does not split very easily and is very 

 durable. 



This species is a shade-bearing tree of soil -protecting and 

 soil-improving qualities, owing to the dense bed of leaves, which 

 in turn makes a bed of humus at the base of the tree, and thus 

 grass-fires are very much hindered in spreading. The timber 

 has not been exported to Europe and the natives scarcely ever 

 use this wood. 



