286 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
by white ants. The tree is a shade-bearer. Natural repro- 
duction from the seed is good, it being distributed often by 
water. It also sprouts from the stump. A few root shoots 
also appear. The tree has not been cut for local use nor has 
it been used for export. The natives use the wood for making 
posts and doors. 
—Cylicodiscus Gabunensis. African Greenheart. Osho, Aja, Iji (II.), 
Ajaigi (Yoruba) ; Okan (Benin). 
Distribution.—In the Abeokuta, Ondo, Benin, Warri, Owerri, 
Calabar provinces of Nigeria. 
Chief Characteristics.—It is a very large tree of the ever- 
green forest zone, attaining a height of 200 feet and a girth 
of 30 feet. It is armed in its earlier growth up to the pole 
stage, when all the brown thorns disappear. Its long, brown 
pods, up to 3 feet long and 14 inches wide, opening from one 
side only, with their long, thin, papery seeds, are most typical 
of the tree. 
Compared to its size the bark is thin, and in old age it is 
inclined to scale off in small pieces. In the distance it looks 
practically smooth. This is one of the most gigantic and 
impressive trees of the forest, with its enormous bole stretching 
cylindrically up amongst and over the other trees, with a 
large, widespreading, somewhat flatly shaped spherical crown. 
The leaves are pinnate, with three of four pairs of little ovate 
pinne, with one odd one at the end. The flowers are minute, 
forming little, thin, knitting-needle-thick spikes of yellow 
bloom. These last only a few days, and only once in thirteen 
years have I seen the flower. The tree and pod are unmistak- 
able, even when it is a large one. The numerous brown pods 
hang down amongst the foliage and appear to be much longer 
than those of any other Leguminous tree. This feature alone 
distinguishes it from any similar species. The bole divides up 
into a few large limbs and many small branches, making the 
foliage lighter and thinner than many other Leguminous trees, 
but not so thin as that of Piptadenia Africana. The root 
spurns are very slight and rounded, merging into the bole 
of the tree 1 foot to 3 feet above the surface of the ground. At 
the base of the bole the bark is sometimes cut off by the 
natives for “‘ Ju-ju ’’ purposes, and then an additional swelling 
appears there. 
The sapwood is white and narrow, the heartwood greenish- 
brown when fresh, and yellowish-brown after it has lain in the 
forest for a few years. It is very hard—in fact, one of the very 
hardest of African timbers. Under cover it is very durable. 
In the open it does not last so long. It is termite-proof. The 
