151 



Entandrophragma, C. DC. 



Entandrophragma Candollei, Harms, in Notizbl. Bot. Gart. 

 Berlin, i. 1896, p. 181. 



A tree, 100 ft. high or more. Bark smooth, ashy grey. Leaves 

 alternate, abruptly pinnate, over 1 ft. long ; leaflets 6-7 pairs, 

 sessile, oblong or obovate-oblong, shortly and abruptly acuminate 

 at the apex, unequally cuneate at the base, 3-4^ in. long, about 

 1\ in. broad, slightly puberulous on the nerves of the lower 

 surface, otherwise glabrous ; lateral nerves 12-18 on each side of 

 the midrib, prominent below ; petiole and rhachis sparingly rusty- 

 pubescent. Panicles about 1 ft. long, many-flowered, pubescent. 

 Flowers about \ in. long. Calyx cupular, 4-6-toothed. Petals 

 4-6, usually 5, oblong. Staminal tube glabrous or nearly so, 

 divided above into 10 anther-bearing segments, joined in its lower 

 part to the gynophore by means of membranous ribs. Ovary 

 seated on a short gynophore, ovoid, 5-ceiled ; ovules 8-10 in 

 each cell. 



Vernac. name. — Ikwapobo (Benin, Thompson) ; Atore (Calabar, 

 Sheriff). — Unscented Mahogany ; Long-capsuled Mahogany. 



Benin ; Old Calabar. 



The wood is valued at about 3d. to 4d. per superficial foot. The 

 tree is said to furnish a high percentage of figured logs, and to get 

 this timber in good condition the Forestry Department advise 

 girdling the trees, thus allowing them to die off gradually and 

 season effectually, otherwise the wood is disliked by the trade, 

 being rather scummy and unsuitable for veneers. (See Col. Rep. 

 Misc. No. 51, 1908, p. 24, and Kew Bull. 1908, p. 189.) 



According to tests made by Unwin and Dalby on specimens 

 obtained from S. Nigeria, the timber has the following characters : 

 Weight per cubic foot, 42*1 lbs. ; coefficient of transverse strength 

 in lbs. per sq. inch, 6,319 ; stress at elastic limit in lbs. per sq. 

 inch, 3,315 ; coefficiency of elasticity in lbs. per sq. inch, 985,500 ; 

 load at centre in lbs., 7,000 ; deflection in inches, # 438 ; shearing 

 stress in lbs. per sq. inch, 895 ; crushing stress in tons per sq. inch, 

 1-92 (Bull. Imp. Inst. 1908, p. 147). 



The working properties of the timber, according to Stone, are 

 that it is both ornamental and useful, and valuable for export ; 

 that it resembles African Mahogany in all respects and would pass 

 as such ; it saws as hard as elm, with an unpleasant spicy smell ; 

 planes fairly well, but inclined to be cross-grained ; takes nails 

 badly ; fissile and cleaves with a smooth shining surface, and 

 takes an excellent finish when polished. It is weak and brittle, 

 and the fracture is biscuit-like and splintery (I.e. p. 152). 



The trees are found in the evergreen forests of the plains, and on 

 account of their size they have not usually been destroyed by the 

 natives when cutting new forest for farming purposes ; it is to this 

 exposure to light, leading to the development of adventitious buds, 

 that the fine figure of many of the logs is probably due (Thompson, 

 Col. Rep. I.e. p. 58). It is plentiful in the drainage areas of the 

 Jamieson and Ethiope Rivers, and is always found on high land 



