THE NIGERIAN TIMBER TREES 358 
trunk is very cylindrical in shape, showing a well formed 
figure, but not so good as either that of Agba or Gum Copal. 
It is only broken up by the root buttresses, which often reach 
10 to 12 feet from the ground before they merge into the stem ; 
the bark is grey, sometimes almost white and almost smooth ; 
in old age, shallow fissures sometimes form. The slash is 
greenish-white, and a little watery sap moistens the cut after 
a short interval. The crown is ovally spherical and occupies 
over one-third of the height of the tree. The flowers are 
mottled pink and white. 
The sapwood is white and the heartwood is the same colour, 
with no great distinction between them except the greater 
dryness of the heartwood. The timber is soft and not 
durable, and is not termite-proof; it does not split very 
well, saws easily, and planes fairly well and takes nails 
comparatively well; does not plane up to a very smooth 
surface. 
It is a very rapid-growing, at first shade-bearing, 
and during the last few years a light-loving tree; it has 
soil-protecting and soil-improving qualities. It is deciduous 
for a short time each year; flowers in February or March, 
and the seeds are borne towards the end of the rainy 
season. Natural regeneration is very good; it sprouts very 
strongly from the stump. It is really somewhat exacting as 
to soil, liking a moist soil of good depth and with plenty 
of drainage; it will not stand in waterlogged ground, 
though an occasional flood does not hurt it. Plantations 
have been made with this tree, and the growth thus far has 
been very rapid; self-sown seedlings, however, show greater 
development in the same period of time. 
Locally, the root flanges are used for making doors and 
occasionally the tree has been cut for planks; it is said that 
the timber is not supposed to be quite so durable as that of 
T Johnsonit, but in reality there is very little difference between 
them. 
Triplochiton n. sp. Bush Maple. Obechi (Benin). 
This tree was found in 1906 in the forest near the Anwai, 
not far from Onitsha Olona, in the Asaba district of the Benin 
province, and is very similar in-habit and growth to the other 
two species. 
Buettneria. Obechi (Benin). 
Benin. 
Pterygota. Poroporo (Yoruba). 
It is found in the Abeokuta province of Nigeria. It is 
not very prevalent in the mixed forests of the Olokemeji 
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