374 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
dyes ; the roots are used for chewing-sticks, and the bark is 
used medicinally by the natives. 
It yields a good firewood which gives great heat. The 
smaller poles make very useful hut-building timber, as it is 
so often forked. 
It should find a place as an avenue tree, owing to the delicate 
green, the dropping nature of its foliage, and the moderate 
amount of shade cast on the road. 
The timber has not been tried for export, but with its dark 
black and sometimes streaky coloration it is worthy of a 
trial. Locally it has occasionally been cut for planks and for 
house-building. It is not liked because it is so hard. The 
sapwood is rather wide. The timber is sometimes rather 
knotty, especially containing dry knots. It is sometimes 
attacked by a large borer, making large holes in it. 
Laguncularia racemosa. White Mangrove or White Button. 
This species is found growing in the swamp regions, also 
on the coast. It yields timber, tanning, dyeing materials and 
medicaments. 
Myrtacee. 
Eugenia Owariensis (Beauv.). West African Allspice. Adere 
(Yoruba). 
It is a common tree of the Olokemeji Reserve and the 
Abeokuta and Oyo provinces. 
With its comparatively short bole (about 8 feet) and wide, 
almost spherically-shaped crown, it is one of the largest and 
most conspicuous of the dry-zone trees. The tree attracts 
the pigeons, but not so much as the wild fig. The flowers 
are very minute and insignificant. The fruit is very small 
and poor. 
Reaching only a girth of about 4 feet, it does not yield 
very large timber. Although moderately hard and durable, 
it has not yet found a place in the local market. It is doubtful 
if it is termite-proof. It might be used for making boxes or 
for small articles of furniture in localities where wood is 
scarce. 
It is a comparatively slow-growing tree, almost soil- 
improving, and of a light-loving nature. 
Owing to its comparatively dense foliage partially shading 
the ground and thus killing the grass, it is a distinctly helpful 
species in the protection from fire of a dry-zone forest. 
Natural reproduction by seed is only moderate, but stump 
shoots are strong, and it appears that root suckers also come 
up in certain places. 
