264 



The bark yields a tough fibre (Fl. Trop. Afr. I.e.) used in Unyoro 

 for ropes (Grant, I.e.), in French West Africa (Chevalier, I.e.), in 

 Senegal (Moloney, For. W. Afr. p. 333). on the Gold Coast 

 (Thompson, Col. Kep. Misc. No. 66, 1910, p. 91), and in S. Nigeria 

 (Thompson, Rep. on Tour through Meko and Shaki Districts, No. 25 

 of 1910, p. 7). It is used in decoction to cleanse ulcers in Angola ; 

 occasionally cultivated near Loanda for this purpose, and generally 

 employed in Angola as an astringent decoction in cases of inter- 

 mittent fever and eruptions (Hiern, I.e. pp. 296-7) ; sometimes used 

 in native medicine in Uganda (Dawe, Rep. Bot. Misc. Uganda, 1906, 

 p. 26). 



From the roots a mahogany-coloured pigment is obtained, used by 

 the Banyoro for staining wooden utensils ; the stain is most 

 effective, and if applied slightly diluted, it dries rapidly and with a 

 good gloss (I.e.). The seeds when burnt produce a black dye 

 (Moloney, I.e. ; Whitely, Mus. Kew). 



The small branches are used by the Sudanese as tooth brush 

 sticks (Chevalier, I.e. p. 77), and a similar use is attributed to the 

 plant in Kontagora, (Dalziel, Bull. Tmp. Inst, 1907, p. 258). 



In French West Africa the young growing points are eaten by 

 cows, sheep, and goats (Chevalier, I.e. p. 76). 



The stem is usually crooked and gnarled and the timber though 

 good is seldom of a useful size, (Sim, For. Fl. & For. Res. Port. E. 

 Afr. p. 48). The wood is not unlike mahogany in colour, very 

 suitable for furniture, and makes beautiful picture frames ; the 

 weight is about 45 lbs. per cubic foot (I.e. p. 118). Chevalier 

 (I.e. p. 79) gives the density as 0*707 [=44 lbs. per cubic ft.], and 

 states that it is frequently used for cabinet-work, joinery, carpentry, 

 cartwrights-work, canoes, mortars, and pestles. De Wildeman 

 (PI. Util. Congo, Art. xxvi. 1904, p. 365) attributes somewhat similar 

 uses to the wood. 



The tree is universally distributed over the dry zone (Thompson, 

 Col. Rep. Misc. I.e.) ; met with principally in the neighbourhood of 

 creeks and very common as underwood (Chevalier, Lc. p. 73). 



Ref. — " Bauhinia reticulata" in Les Veg. Utiles de L'Afrique 

 Trop. Franc. Chevalier, Perrot et Gerard, fasc. iii. pp. 72-77, with 

 illustrations of microscopical sections of the wood — transverse and 

 longitudinal, and summarising the information in a tabular statement 

 at end of volume (Challamel, Paris, 1907). 



Bauhinia rufescens, Lam. ; Fl. Trop. Afr. II. p. 289. 



III.— Lam. Encycl. t. 329, f. 2 ; Fielding & Gardner, Sert. PI. t, 10 

 (B. par vif olio). 



Vernac. names. — Matsagge (Katagum, Dalziel) ; Kulkul (Arabic, 

 Muriel [Kordofan, near Bara]) ; Bei (W. Africa, Moloney) ; Randa 

 or Rand, Namare or Namari, Sifile or Sifili (F. W. Africa, Chevalier). 



Abeokuta ; Borgu ; Bornu ; Katagum ; and throughout W. Africa. 



Wood used in carpentry (Moloney, For. W. Afr. p. 332 ; Cat. 

 Prod. Col. Fr. Exhib. Universale 1867, p. 44) ; the density is given at 

 0*713 or 44*5 lbs. per cubic foot. 



The natives of French West Africa use the bark for making ropes, 

 tanning leather, and as a remedy for small-pox, dysentery and 

 leprosy ; the root in intermittent fever, and a decoction of the leaves 

 in diseases of the eye (Chevalier). 



Ref. Bauhinia rufescens, in Les. Veg. Utiles de L'Afrique 



Trop. Franc. Chevalier, Perrot & Gerard, Fasc. iii. pp. 77-79. 



