280 



LEG UMINOS AE— MIMOSE AE. 

 Pentaclethra, Benth. 



Pentaclethra macrophylla, Benth. \ Fl. Trop. Afr. II. p. 322. 



III.— Trans. Linn. Soc. xxiv. 1864, t. 37, ft. 1-7 ; Ann. Inst. Col., 

 Marseille, iv. 1897, p. 183 (Vue d'un groupe de grands Owala), p. 186, 

 f. 8 (Gousse ouverte d'Owala), p. 187, f. 9 (seeds) ; Volkens, Notiz- 

 blatt, App. xxii. No. 3, 1910, p. 90, f. 44. 



Vernac. names. — Apara (Lagos, Thompson, Dawodu) ; Opaga, 

 Opogga (Benin, Thompson) ; Athawah or Atawah (Fanti, Twi, Gold 

 Coast, Thompson) ; Ekuana (Fanti, Thompson) ; Owala (Gaboon, 

 Baiter, De Wildeman, Klaine) ; Ebe, Boala, Bala, Sucupira, Sicopira, 

 Mobala (Congo, De Wildeman) ; Ebe (Pahouin, De Wildeman) ; 

 Kakung, Fai or Faire (Sierra Leone, Unwin, Smythe) ; Opochala (Ebo, 

 Niger, Moloney, Barter) ; Secupira, Sucopira, or Sucupira (Princes 

 Island, Welwitsch) ; Bokombola or Kombola (Kamerun, Bilsgen) ; 

 Pauco (W. Africa, Merck) ; Atta Beans (Gold Coast, Cat. Franco-Br. 

 Exhib. 1908, p. 13). 



Asaba ; Old Calabar ; Oban Hills Forest Reserve, and throughout 

 West Africa. 



The seeds are used as food by the natives in West Africa. They 

 have been shipped from the South Coast to Antwerp, but the selling 

 price — about £5 per ton — has not met the requirements of exporters, 

 and the trade apparently has not made much progress (Bull. Imp. 

 Inst. 1907, p. 14). Small consignments are imported for the manu- 

 facture of oil. They yield about 30 per cent, of oil suitable for soap- 

 making ; the residue after crushing has been described as a low- class 

 feeding article worth about £5 per ton (Dunstan, Sierra Leone Roy. 

 Gaz. Nov. 27, 1909, p. 731). The seeds (in 1909) for crushing 

 purposes were valued at about £6 per ton (Col. Rep. Ann. No. 665, 

 1911, p. 33). 



"Paucine" is an alkaloid obtained from the seeds (" Pauco Nuts"), 

 see Pharm. Journ. [3] xxv. 1895, p. 834). 



The bark is boiled down by the natives of the Gold Coast to make 

 a lotion for sores (Beyle, Herb. Kew). 



The wood is hard, suitable for turnery, wheelwright's work, 

 arpentry and naval construction (De Wildeman, PI. Util. Congo, 

 1904, p. 359), specific gravity 0*9609 = 60 lbs. per cubic foot (including 

 bark) ; weight 62 lbs. per cubic foot (Bull. Imp. Inst, 1910, p. 239). 

 Sample logs have sold at Is. Id. per cubic foot (Thompson, List of 

 For. Trees, S. Nigeria, 1910, p. 4). 



The tree is abundant in the moist evergreen forests of the plains in 

 S. Nigeria (Thompson, Col. Rep. Misc. No. 51, 1908, p. 56), and 

 common near villages. It is easily propagated by seeds. 



Ref. — " Note on the structure and mode of dehiscence of the 

 Legumes of Pentaclethra macrophylla" Oliver, in Trans. Linn. Soc. 



xxiv. 1864, pp. 415-420. " Beurre d'Owala, Pentaclethra macro- 



phylla," Heckel, in Annates l'Inst. Col. Marseille, iv. 1897 (1898), pp. 



183-192. "Oil Beans from S. Nigeria," in Bull. Imp. Inst. v. 1907, 



pp. 10-14, with analyses of oil and meal. ''Report on Fai Beans, 



Pentaclethra macrophylla" Dunstan, in Sierra Leone Roy. Gaz. 



Nov. 27th, 1909, pp. 730-731, with analyses of oil and cake. 



" Pentaclethra macrophylla" Harms, in Notizblatt, App. xxi. No. 2, 

 1911, pp. 29-33. 



