262 
WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
It is usually dried and sold in the native markets, several 
bunches for a penny. By some it is almost looked upon as 
a medicine. 
Xylopia parviflora (Eng. and Diels). Small-flowering Negro 
Pepper. Sesedo, Issa oku (Yoruba); Aghako or Oziza (?) 
(Benin). 
This tree is found in the Abeokuta and Benin provinces 
of Nigeria, where it is none too prevalent. It is a medium- 
sized tree with a very straight, thin and tall bole. Except 
for its size it is very much like X. Athiopica; the fruit is much 
smaller and scarcely to be seen from the ground. The timber 
is grey-white, and the heartwood, though occasionally a light 
brown, is scarcely to be distinguished from the sapwood. It 
is hard, durable, and said to be termite-proof. It does not 
take nails easily, nor does it split well, but it saws compara- 
tively easily. Natural reproduction by seeds appears to be 
poor. It scarcely sprouts from the stump. It is a shade- 
bearing, soil-protecting and soil-improving tree. 
The timber has not been exported. The bark and roots 
are used medicinally. 
It is used locally for house-building, as verandah-posts 
or supports for the roof. It has considerable tensile strength 
and stands compression better still. 
Anona Senegalensis (Pers.). Wild Custard Apple. Abo (Yoruba). 
This is found in the Oyo and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. 
It is a small, shrub-like tree, with a short stem of about 4 or 
5 feet, and has a very oval leaf, almost ovate in shape. It 
bears a yellow fruit which divides up into the typical segments 
common to this family. It resembles the Sugar Apple, has 
a delicious taste, and the fruit is most refreshing on a hot day 
at the end of the dry season. The tree is fire-resisting. Being 
deciduous, it is not a soil-improving tree. It is soil-exacting, 
but is also found in rocky localities. The tree is not very 
prolific, but sprouts very strongly from the stump and to a 
less extent with root suckers. The small timber is occasionally 
used for house-building. 
Anona palustris (Foster). Alligator Apple. Afe (Yoruba). 
The wood is supposed to be soft, and to have been intro- 
duced into the country some years ago. 
It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. The 
fruit is edible, the foliage dense and heavy. In the dry season 
the dew condenses on the leaves and towards morning drips 
off on to the ground, thus keeping the immediate vicinity of 
the tree quite moist. The leaves, when decayed, make a rich 
humus. It is one of the most valuable soil-improving trees. 
