214 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
Sarcocephalus Russegeri (Rubiacex). Tafashia. 
A shrub, or occasionally a small tree, common in moist meadows, but 
found also in the open dry bush. The flowers are in rather large 
creamy balls, and the coarse red, succulent fruit is the analogue of 
the Sierra Leone peach, S. esculentus, Afzel, which grows to a large 
tree in the evergreen forests. 
Mitragyne Africana, Korth. Giyaiya. 
This is a characteristic tree of swampy areas in the deciduous 
regions, found by streams and marshes or forming island-clumps with 
a few lesser shrubs and weeds in the grassy meadows, which dry up 
in the rainless months. It is generally from 20 to 30 feet in height 
and has close, spherical heads of whitish flowers and smooth, but not 
shining, leaves with regular venation. 
Crossopteryx Kotschyana, Fenzl. Kasfiya. 
Asmall tree of 15 to 20 feet, with foliage resembling that of Giyaiya, 
bunches of whitish flowers, and abundant small black, pill-like fruits, 
which remain attached long after they are ripe. 
Adina microcephala, Hiern. Kadanyar rafi. 
A fairly tall tree of 30 to 40 feet, found in stream-banks in the 
savannah region. It has whitish balls of flowers and tapering smooth 
leaves. 
Morelia Senegalensis, A. Rich. Innuwar bauna. 
An evergreen shrub 10 to 20 feet high, common on stream-banks, 
and found both in the semi-evergreen forests and in the fringing belts 
of the deciduous region. The flowers are white and somewhat fragrant, 
and the fruit is spherical, tipped by the tubular remains of the calyx. 
Butyrospermum Parkii, Kotschii. (Sapotacee). Kadanya; “Shea 
Butter Tree.” 
A typical tree of the savannah hinterlands, and one which gives 
the park-like character to many parts of Northern Nigeria, it barely 
extends to the northern boundary, and is rarer on the Bornu side. It 
is generally 25 to 30 feet high or more, with a dense crown and a 
curiously corrugated bark. Flowers, in white, head-like clusters 
generally appear about December. The brown, chestnut-like kernels 
are ripe about July. The milky juice and the coarser venation of 
the leaves readily distinguish this tree from Lophira alata. 
Diospyros mespeliformis, Hochst. (Ebenacee). Kanya or Kaiwa; 
“ African Ebony.” 
A fairly large tree, up to about 40 feet in height, in the savannah 
forests and open country, extending north to beyond the Anglo-French 
