292 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
This may be the tree which yielded the so-called teak in 
the Benin forests some years ago, and fetched a price of 5d. 
per foot superficial. 
The bark scales off in a similar way to Afzelia Africana. 
Afzelia bracteata (T. Vogel). Benin Bilinga. Ekpagoize (Benin). 
It has a red flower, is found in the Benin province, but is 
apparently rather rare. 
The Benin name indicates that it is the Ekpagoi or Berlinia 
of the waterside. It is usually found near or on the bank of 
a stream. It is a large tree, which is otherwise similar to the 
other Afzelias. 
The natives have apparently not tried it for building pur- 
poses. 
- Afzelia Africana. Yoruba Bilinga. Apa (Yoruba); Olokokima, 
Aligna (Benin); Ayibukpo (Efik); Adja, Arachi (Asaba Ibo). 
Trade Name.—Bilinga, similar wood from the French Congo, 
so named for some years. 
It is found in the Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ondo, Benin, Owerri, 
Onitsha and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. 
The round, orange-coloured aril at the base of the black 
nut is typical of this tree. It sometimes has a reddish tinge, 
but it is always round and completely surrounds the base of 
the nut, in contradistinction to A. cuanzensis, in which the 
aril is red and pointed and much thinner in build. 
The spherically-shaped crown with its flattish top is most 
typical of this tree. The largish leaves and the paucity of 
their number make the foliage open, so that daylight can be 
seen through it. In the distance it appears dense. 
The sapwood is white, and the heartwood a rich oak-brown 
colour. It is one of the most durable West African timbers. 
It planes well and can be worked up with a good finish. It 
does not split well. It is obtainable in logs up to 30 inches 
square and 30 feet in length. 
Though slow in growth it would average that of many 
European trees. It stands a good deal of shade in its youth, 
but it is really more of a light lover than a shade-bearer. Self- 
sown seedlings are few; apparently rodents eat them. In a 
similar way it is difficult to make a plantation, many being 
eaten or dying in the transplanting. One of the most successful 
methods evolved is that of sowing seeds in lines about 4 feet 
apart ; a large number then come up and provide ample for a 
crop on the same land. They are not transplanted. When of 
middle age it will stand fire and the shade of the tree keeps 
the ground moist. 
It is a soil-protecting and soil-improving tree; good crops 
