406 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
Mitragyne macrophyllum. False Opepe. Burokossa, Bulokossa, 
Ugbodokossa (Benin); Ebar (Brass); Ebar (New Calabar) ; 
Ubuen (Efik). 
It is found in the Abeokuta, Ondo, Benin, Warri, Owerri 
and Calabar provinces of Nigeria. 
It is a large tree, attaining a girth of over 12 feet and a height 
of over 100 feet. It has a very large leaf. The tree is often 
more or less gregarious, more especially in the moister or almost 
swampy parts of the evergreen forest zone. The bark is of 
a dull-green colour, comparatively thin, and only slightly fissured 
in a large tree. 
The sapwood is yellowish-white and the heartwood of a pale 
yellow colour. It is almost a hardwood, does not split well, 
planes up smoothly and saws comparatively easily. It hardens 
considerably on seasoning and is very durable under cover, but 
not so much on exposure to the air. The dense foliage makes 
a thick layer of humus under the trees, as a few of the leaves 
fall off each year. It is thus a soil-improving and soil-protecting 
tree. It would probably be found to make a good mixture, 
in groups of about half an acre in extent, with mahogany in 
the evergreen forest zone. In the Brass district it is one of 
the commonest trees which is used for making canoes ; it has 
also occasionally been sawn up for planks. It has not yet 
been exported to England, but at any rate locally it should 
command a wider use in house-building of all kinds. 
Mitragyne Africanum. Akpakossa (Benin). 
It is found in the Benin, Ondo, Warri and Calabar pro- 
vinces of Nigeria. 
It is @ somewhat common tree on the borderland of the 
mixed deciduous forest and the dry-zone vegetation. The 
tree is of small size, attaining a girth of about 6 feet and a 
bole length of 25 feet ; the leaf is very large, but does not reach 
the size of M. macrophyllum. It is most frequently found in the 
swampy places at the edge of the deciduous forest ; like the 
sister tree, it is more or less gregarious, though the groups are 
usually not very large. 
The timber is of a dull yellowish-white colour, and 
planes well; it does not split very easily and is very 
durable. 
This species is a shade-bearing tree of soil-protecting and 
soil-improving qualities, owing to the dense bed of leaves, which 
in turn makes a bed of humus at the base of the tree, and thus 
grass-fires are very much hindered in spreading. The timber 
has not been exported to Europe and the natives scarcely ever 
use this wood. 
