THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 287 
sapwood, however, rots in the open, and the heartwood softens 
very considerably. It is somewhat fibrous, but it planes up 
well, with a smooth surface. It does not take nails, saws well, 
and splits moderately well. It has considerable elasticity. 
It makes a very hot-burning firewood, but is inclined to crackle 
and make sparks. 
It is a moderately fast-growing, shade-bearing, soil-protecting 
and soil-improving tree. Natural regeneration appears to be fair, 
but the seeds are often eaten by little boring insects, soon 
after they fall to the ground. It appears to be rather exacting 
as to soil, liking a deep, moist loam sand with good drainage. 
It is scarcely a fire-resisting tree, but very storm firm—in fact, 
one of the safest trees. 
In 1906 sample logs of this tree were sold in the Liverpool 
market as African Greenheart at 1s. 8d. per cubic foot, and 
were stated to be good greenheart. Since then none has been 
cut or shipped to England. With the exception of its use for 
verandah-posts for a public building in Benin city, it has not 
been cut or sawn up in planks for local use. Considering the 
comparatively large quantity available, it deserves a fair trial 
both for export and local use, more especially for heavy con- 
structional work, such as bridges, piles, uprights. 
Amongst the Benis it is sometimes a “ Ju-ju” tree, and is 
said to impart strength. 
Leptoderris. 
Owerri province of Nigeria. It is a medium-sized tree 
found growing near the Imo River, but not very common. It 
has a hard wood. 
Baphia nitida (Afz.). Awenu or Irosun. Borri Borri (Yoruba) ; 
Otwa (Benin); Ubara (Efik). 
Is a small tree, which is usually found near villages, being 
left by the natives when land is cleared. The white flowers 
are almost of pea shape. It has a small leaf, and does not 
usually get any larger than about four inches in diameter. 
It is found in the Ondo, Abeokuta, Benin and Calabar 
provinces of Nigeria. 
The real Camwood of commerce. 
It is very slow-growing, and is not a hard wood, with dark- 
red heartwood of small size in proportion to the size of tree. 
It forms late, too. If the stem is wounded, even the sapwood 
becomes a rich red colour like the heartwood. 
The probable origin of the word “‘ Camwood ”’ is taken from 
the Timani name, Cam, of the Baphia nitida tree in Sierra Leone. 
From another point of view this is all the more interesting, 
as the original exports of Camwood were made from Sierra 
