58 GUIDE TO TIMBERS OF NIGERIA 



LOCALITIES. Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Liberia, Ivory 

 Coast, Togo, Cameroons, Congo, French Central Africa, 

 Senegal. 



VERNACULAR NAMES. Adesekanchie ; Agbassy ; Agbesi ; 

 Ameliki ; Amelliky (com.) ; Awesu ; Awessu ; Badi ; Baya 

 (com. to Mitragyne) ; Doy ; Dundaka ; Dundake ; Eben ; 

 Egbesi ; Egbesaye ; Ekusawa ; Essoubo ; Fig ; Fig, country ; 

 Fig, African ; Golli ; Jadali ; Kina du Rio-nunez ; Kishia ; 

 Kisia ; Kusia ; Kusiaba ; Kussiabah ; Lignum Djimo ; Nonble ; 

 Obiache ; Onhon ; Okusia ; Opepe (see note below) ; Owessu ; 

 Owussu ; Peach ; Peach, African ; Peach, negro ; Peach, 

 Sierra Leone ; Peach-root ; Quinine, African ; Quinquina 

 africain ; Sibo ; Tafasiya ; Tetere ; Weather-board wood ; 

 Woacroolie ; Wuacruli ; Viku ; Yellow-fever-root ; Bilinga 

 (com.) ; Pan de frute. 



NQTE. The name " Opepe " variously spelt is common to 

 the other species of this genus, to Terminalia, Pterocarpus, 

 Mitragyne, and perhaps Mimusops. Chevalier, writing of 

 " Viku," says that a wood of little value is exported from 

 the Congo under this name. 



Description of the wood from specimens Nos. 3284 (from 

 Oni), 3000 " Kusiaba " (Empire Timber Exhibition, 1920) and 

 3015 (from same source) " Opepe." Our specimens Nos. 

 2809 HS. " Kusia ; Ekusawa " from the Gold Coast, 1905 HS. 

 "African Teak," 2008 HS., 0751 HS. from commercial sources, 

 all agree. The specimen of Swamp Opepe, No. 3818 from 

 Benin received from the Government of Nigeria, is an entirely 

 different wood and is described hereafter. 



GENERAL CHARACTERS. A moderately hard and heavy wood 

 of a uniform brownish-yellow colour which is characteristic. 

 Surface clean, hardly cold to the touch, not likely to soil. 

 The colour does not deepen much on exposure. Grain, very 

 cross, coarse and open. Smell, none. 



STRUCTURE. Transverse section. (Prepared with broken 

 glass.) See PL IV, fig. 1. 



Parenchyma of one kind : (a) vasicentric, visible to the 

 unaided eye, lighter in colour than the rays ; sheaths the 

 pores and sometimes (in wide rings) connects the pores into 

 oblique lines. Proportion of the mass, including vessels, 

 about one-third. In some specimens reputed to be of this 



