37 
7) 
a 
WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
easy to saw or cut with a chisel and splits well. It is attacked 
by termites. 
On the whole the tree is a light-lover, and even the young 
self-sown seedlings only grow in comparatively open places 
near rivers, where there is no shade directly over them, though 
there may be trees to one side or the other. It is one of the 
typical trees of the evergreen and mixed deciduous zone, 
growing always on damp and deep soil. Natural reproduction 
by seed is good. Stool shoots grow, but do not persist 
for a great length of time. It often forms small pure groups 
in the secondary forest, and in suitable localities tends to be 
more prevalent in the secondary than in the primeval forest. 
In Nigeria it has been used as planks, but is not considered 
very good. On the Gold Coast it has been used for shingles. 
The natives occasionally use the tree for making canoes, 
also for bowls, plates, and native doors in the Benin country, 
but owing to its softness it is not considered of much account. 
In figure No. 108 there is a picture of a very large specimen 
found in the Ikrigon Forest Reserve. 
Terminalia Togoensis. Dry-zone Terminalia. Idi, Idi Odan (Yo- 
ruba). 
Found in the Oyo, Benin and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. 
It is a very common tree, with slight foliage and small stem, 
which is usually forked about 10 feet from the ground. The 
slash is yellow and almost dry, which is most typical of 
the tree. 
The wood is soft, though harder than most of the other 
Terminalias. It works easily, but does not split well. The 
sapwood is white and the heartwood of a pale yellow colour. 
The bark is rough and widely fissured. Natural regeneration 
by seed does not appear to be good, though stump shoots appear 
when the tree is cut down. It stands a considerable amount 
of fire, but it is a light-loving tree. 
The local people find the stem useful for house-building 
posts, as it is comparatively durable and forked in shape. 
Terminalia avicennioides. 
It was stated it was found in the Calabar province. 
Terminalia Brownii. Inya joko (Yoruba). 
Found in the Abeokuta province. 
Combretum racemosum. Ogan pupa (Yoruba); Akoso, Orsorsor 
(Benin). 
Found in Olokemeji and Benin. Climbing shrub with red 
flowers and white bracts. 
Combretum Lawsonianum. Ome (Benin). 
It has red flowers and is found at Agege. 
