OIL BEANS, SEEDS AND NUTS 457 



nut inside. It has not yet been exported or valued. The Benin and 

 other natives are very fond of eating it. 



Then there is the nut of Ivialegbi (Benin), which is edible and has 

 a pleasant taste. It is rather smaller than the Gaboon nut, and its 

 surface is slightly striated from the sharp point of the nut to the 

 base. 



In this family is found, too, Coula edulis, or the Gaboon nut. 

 This is chiefly found in the Cameroons, but owing to similarity in the 

 vegetation it is very probably growing in the Oban forest of the Anom 

 range. The shell of the nut is very rough, and the outside is smoother 

 than the inside. The shell can be cracked comparatively easily with 

 a somewhat j)owerful blow with a hammer or axe-handle. 



From the Anonacese : 



Monodora tenuifolia, African Nutmeg. 



M. myristica, var. grandis, Calabar Nutmeg. 



31. brevipes, Yellow-flowering Nutmeg. 



None of these nutmegs have yet been placed on the European market. 

 Although they are all much smaller in size than the nutmeg of 

 commerce, a proper examination would reveal any value they might 

 possess. 



Although the Myristicaceae, Pycnanthus Kombo, yield fat-bearing 

 nuts, they have not been exported to the English market. The nut 

 is the size of a small oval plum. The outer husk is hard and thick, 

 but is comparatively easily broken. The inner nut is covered 

 with a red aril spread out over it, similar to the mace over the 

 common nutmeg {Myristica fragrans). The kernel is white inside, 

 with dark rays penetrating it from the outside. The tree is very 

 prevalent, and yields a large number of nuts. According to the 

 investigation of the Imperial Institute ^ " the yield of solid fat was 

 54 per cent. It has an orange colour and a bitter taste." The fat 

 was stated to be suitable for soap and candle making and the meal 

 as a manure. In Sierra Leone the nuts were known as Kpoye, and 

 are identical with those known as " Kafu." According to the 

 chemical analysis made at the Imperial Institute the following results 

 were obtained : 



