294 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
Albizzia Browni:. African Walnut. Ayinre, Ayinre Bona Bona 
(Yoruba); Owewe nolemare, Ikpawudu (Benin). 
It is a large tree, up to 7 feet in girth, with wide fruit 2 inches 
across, containing four or five seeds. There are three or four 
pairs of pinnz to each leaf, which is the largest of all the Al- 
bizzia leaves. The heartwood is more like walnut in colour, 
though of course softer and with more open grain. It could 
no doubt, however, be used as a substitute for walnut. 
It is a common tree in the mixed deciduous forests of the 
Abeokuta, Ibadan, Benin, Owerri, and Ogoja provinces, where 
it is tending to widen its area of distribution with the spread 
of cultivation. 
The fruit is very papery and almost transparent. It is 
rather larger than Albizzia sp., Shemusholoshi, but of about 
the same length. Its smooth, almost orange-coloured bark 
in the earlier stages is almost typical of the tree. As it gets 
older, a somewhat more corky bark forms in large scales which 
can be stripped off. The lop-sided shape of the pinne is 
very typical of the tree, making the leaves look almost like 
those of a true Gum Copal. The main vein is near the 
straighter side of the leaf. 
The sapwood is white and the heartwood a mahogany 
brown. It has rather an open grain, but a good deal of lustre, 
and is easily worked. It planes well and takes nails easily. It 
splits fairly well and saws quite easily. It is not quite so 
durable as A. fastigata, but it is more durable than the other 
Albizzias, except A. sp., Shemusholoshi. It is not termite-proof. 
It has considerable tensile strength compared to the other 
species, and a certain amount of elasticity. 
It is the fastest growing of all the Albizzias and a light- 
loving tree. It scarcely protects the soil, but the leaf fall 
makes a good humus. It stands a little shade in its youth. 
Natural regeneration is. very prolific. No plantations have 
been made with this tree. It appears to be a little more 
exacting as to soil than the other Albizzias, but will grow on 
almost any soil. 
The timber has not been exported, but deserves a trial 
as a substitute for walnut. Owing to the fact that there 
are considerable supplies, and that it reaches a size to produce 
logs of the requisite dimensions, it appears to offer some pos- 
sibilities as an export wood. Locally it has often been used 
for cutting up into planks, and is liked among the Yorubas 
for this purpose. In other places it has been used as a house- 
building wood, as well as for firewood. It has also been used 
for making beams, planks and doors. The roots, leaves and 
