THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



by reflected light : also scattered single cells : also encircling 

 the pores (very narrowly). 



Pith. ? 



Radial Section. Pores, colourless lines not conspicuous un- 

 less filled with black resin but then very prominent and shining : 

 few. Rays, mere scratches, almost imperceptible with lens. 

 Rings, very doubtful : the numerous black, vertical streaks are 

 quite independent of the structure. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays are practic- 

 ally imperceptible without a microscope : about o - 02 high. 



Type specimens from commercial sources : unauthenticated. 

 This wood has nothing whatever in common with Coccoloba 

 uvifera either in appearance or structure. The frequently 

 repeated statement that Cocobola is the wood of that tree is due 

 to an assumption based on the similarity of their names. Com- 

 pare the specimen in Museum No. i, Kew, and also Fig. No. 

 132, Plate XV. 



No. 210. OPEPE. Species unknown. 



Plate XV. Fig. 135. 



Source of Supply. West Coast of Africa : Lagos, Toruba. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 47^ lbs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 4, compare Maple. Smell or taste 

 none. Burns well with some noise and a little smell : yellow 

 gum is expelled by heat accompanied by puffs of vapour : embers 

 glow in still air : grey ash. Solution faint golden. 



Grain. Coarse and open, dense and compact. Surface dull, 

 rather cold to the touch : the pores have shining linings. 



Bark. ? 



Uses, etc. There is at present no information to hand, but the 

 wood is of great beauty being of a colour seldom met with. It 

 planes well to a very smooth surface and takes an excellent 

 polish without trouble, though the open pores require consider- 

 able filling. I consider it a splendid cabinet wood and hope 

 that we shall see more of it. 



Authorities. The Governor of Lagos (as to the vernacular 

 name). Kew Bull., 1891, p. 41. 



Colour. A beautiful reddish-yellow or golden-red : quite 

 uniform. Sap-wood. ? 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Prominent from their size not their colour, size 0, 

 a little variation in no particular order : uniformly arranged in a 

 definite tracery : few, 0-5 per sq. mm. : the large ones oval, 

 clean-cut : single not subdivided, always isolated : usually empty 

 and it is possible to see a little way down them in the solid. 



240 



