THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 281 
so that it has not been thoroughly tested as to its value as an 
export timber. 
Isoberlinia Doka (Kew). 
It is found in the Ogoja, Abeokuta and Owerri provinces 
of Nigeria. 
It is a medium-sized tree with rather large, widespreading 
pinnate leaves. It is one of the few trees that are gregarious 
in habit, groups from half an acre to an acre in extent being 
found. The tree is used for house-building and withstands 
a certain amount of fire, as it grows at the edge of the dry-zone 
forest. 
~Berlinia acuminata. Red Oak. Apado (Abeokuta), Ewon Pala 
(Ikale), Adugbin (Ibadan) (Yoruba); Ekpagoi (Benin); Ajia 
(Ibo, Asaba); Obuba (New Calabar) ; Hanabali (Oban, Ekoi). 
This is a common tree in all the Southern Provinces of 
Nigeria. Although it is found most frequently in the 
evergreen forest zone, a small, bush-like variety is also 
found in the open deciduous forest. The most conspicuous 
features of this. tree are the large foot-shaped unripe pods ; 
these stick out, isolated, at right angles to the general 
direction of the surface of the ground—this makes them appear 
all the more prominent and most odd in appearance. When 
the pods burst, the large flat beans are released, and each 
side of the pod curls up, but appears speckled white with round 
dull spots along the middle. The flowers are white, nearly 
2 inches across, with one red streak in the centre. In the 
evergreen forest zone these flowers do not seem so conspicuous, 
but in the dry zone the tree is covered with blossom, making 
it one of the most beautiful. In the heavy forest zone the. 
bole reaches the length of nearly 80 feet and the girth of over 
20. With its smooth, shiny grey bark, at the first glance it is 
not unlike a beech-tree. The root spurns are usually quite 
small, and do not extend beyond 2 feet up the stem. The 
slash is white and of a yellow colour on the inner edge. The 
leaves are pinnate, with one odd leaf at the end, being usually 
nearly 3 inches long ; the total length of the leaf is often over 
1 foot. The freshly ripened beans are almost square in shape, 
fiat, and nearly a quarter of an inch thick. Each side of the pod 
is usually the size of an average man’s foot, and sometimes 
larger ; it is also not unlike it in shape, but the curve where 
the instep should be is very slight. The crown is spherical 
and very large, often occupying one-third of the total height 
of the tree. The foliage is comparatively dense, and it is not 
possible to see through the top of it. The tree loses 
its leaves for a very short time each year. In the dry zone 
