Chapter V: Part 5

=The Leaves= are 12-15 inches long, pinnate, with 3-5 pairs of opposite leaflets and a terminal leaflet. The leaflets are obovate with broad tip and small point, and are increasingly longer and larger from below upwards, the lowest pair about 2½ inches long and 1½ inches broad, the upper pair 4-5 inches long and 2-2½ inches broad, the terminal as broad, but not so long. The nerves are prominent beneath but grooved above. The colour is light green and shining, smooth beneath. The margins may be serrate, the teeth quite sharp, or may be quite entire.

=The Flowers= are in panicles up to 4 feet in length hanging from the branches in February to April. The short flower stalks are curved, the calyx is fleshy, 4-lobed and pale green, and the corolla has a trumpet-shaped tube some 3 inches long, ending in a large, reddish-purple, wrinkled and lobed mouth on the lower side of which lie the 4 stamens and pistil with flattened stigma. The outside of the curved tubular portion is white with reddish lines, and the shape and length of this tube decides the species. There is an unpleasant odour to the flower. The corolla falls entire with the stamens attached.

=The Fruit= is like an elongated marrow, 12-20 inches long and 3-4 inches broad, greyish in colour with a slightly rough skin. The apex is pointed. Scattered about in the fibrous pulp are a number of small seeds which are let loose by the rotting of the fruit, which takes a long time to mature.

=LONCHOCARPUS GRIFFONIANUS= Dunn.—_Tuburku_. LEGUMINOSAE.

This is a large deciduous tree which extends up to 11° by way of the streams and “kurmis” and which, below that latitude will grow away, though not far, from their influence. It attains a height of 60 feet with a girth of 8 feet or more and has an enormous spreading crown with drooping twigs and delicate pinnate foliage which gives heavy shade. Bole lengths of 30 feet are seen in close forest and in the open there may be a number of stems from the ground level or near it. The pods, like strips of tanned leather, are the most distinctive feature, as they persist for some time.

=The Bark= is smooth, with small, very thin, close-fitting scales which remain attached by their centres before falling. The colour is grey or light brown. The slash is pale yellow, soft and thick.

=The Wood= is whitish-grey. In transverse section the rings are indistinct lines, the pores are very irregular festoons, dense on some zones and single and scattered in the rings. The rays are very fine and close and much waved, and are visible as a fine stippling in vertical sections. In vertical section the pores are open and their brown colour adds a tint to the wood. It is soft, very easy to work with all tools, the planed surface having a slight sheen. Weight 40 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are pinnate, 9-10 inches long with three to four pairs and a terminal leaflet. The main stalk is very slender and those of the leaflets very short. The leaflets are obovate, with a tongued tip, the lowest pair rounded, the intermediate pairs narrower and the terminal larger and broader. The upper surface is dark and shiny, the under side paler and smooth. The mid-rib is prominent beneath and slightly sunken above. There is a marked contrast between the colour of the leaflet stalks and the under side of the leaflets when viewed from beneath.

=The Flowers= appear on the leafless tree in February or March. They are on 6-7 inch long spikes all over the bare twigs, and are a delicate blue or mauve colour and pleasantly scented. They are “pea-flowers,” ¾ inch long, the calyx reddish-purple, the standard petal with a cream centre splash and the keel white. The flowering period is very short and the leaves follow and cover the tree in a few days.

=The Fruits= are flat pods, 3-5 inches long and ¾ inch broad, very slightly embossed at the seeds, light brown with a grained surface, very like tanned leather, containing up to 3 flat, bean-shaped, dark brown seeds. A large number of pods fall entire without producing seeds.

=LONCHOCARPUS LAXIFLORUS= G. & P.—_Farin Sansame, Shunin Biri, Halshen Sa_. LEGUMINOSAE.

A small tree some 15-20 feet high, occasionally 30 feet, occurring commonly throughout the drier savannahs, often in small patches or clumps. It resembles _Stereospermum Kunthianum_ (Sansame) in form and leaf but in no other detail. The form is stunted and similar to the majority of the trees in the northern bush savannah, though larger examples with big oval crowns and a 10 foot bole are not uncommon. A curious branching habit is noticed where the main stem grows partly round the base of the side limb forming an enlarged joint. The branches are markedly drooping. The pale bark, purple flowers, narrow flat pods and greyish-green leaves are distinctive features.

=The Bark= is light grey or yellowish and fairly smooth, the scales being small, close together and corky. Narrow ridges of cork form on the branches and that of the stem thickens for protection against fires. The slash is yellow with black streaks, very distinctive.

=The Wood= is light yellow, of uniform colour. In transverse section the rings are marked and the concentric lines of hard and soft tissue very plainly seen. The pores are large and small, few, scattered about in the lines of soft tissue in festoons. The rays are straight, variable in width, some visible, others not, to the unaided eye. The areas of hard tissue are clearly divided into rectangles by the sharp lines of soft tissue and the rays. The wood is hard, heavy, not difficult to saw and planing to a smooth finish with a slight sheen. The weight is 55 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are a foot long with 5-7 leaflets, the terminal longest, the lowest pair shortest. They are grey-green and waxy to the touch and with the exception of the mid-rib the venation is raised on the upper and not on the lower surface. They are 3-4 inches long and tapering to both ends.

=The Flowers= are in numerous panicles at the twig ends, a mass of purple at first erect, then drooping. The panicles are up to a foot long and the flowers are papilionaceous with a white splash on the face of the standard petal. The calyx is dark purple. They appear from January to March and are fertilised by bees, flies and wasps and other insects.

=The Fruits= are pods, from 2-5 inches long according to the number of seeds, generally 2, rarely 3, and an inch in width. They are flat, light brown or whitish in colour, in pendulous masses, very conspicuous and the seeds are chestnut brown, ½ inch long, shiny, flat and with a deeply indented hilum. They remain on the tree for a long time.

=Uses.=—An infusion of the roots with water is used as a tonic.

=LOPHIRA ALATA= Banks.—_Namijin Kadai, Mijin Kadai_. “_Meni Oil Tree_.” DIPTEROCARPACEAE.

This is one of the type species of the tree savannah and strongly resembles at first sight the Shea, since both have strap-shaped leaves. This is the only close resemblance and even they are easily distinguished from one another, see below. It attains a height of some 40 feet with a girth up to 6 feet, and has a tall, regular, rather open crown occupying at least two-thirds of the height and often more. The branches ascend at an acute angle to the stem so that the form is narrowed, another distinguishing feature between it and the Shea. It prefers good deep soils and its northern limit is about 12° N.

=The Bark= is light grey with even-sized scales 1-2 inches long, 1 inch wide and ¼ inch thick. That of the smaller branches is softly corky. The scales are not prominent, nor is there a milky sap, two other features distinguishing it from the Shea. The slash is crimson with bright yellow edges.

=The Wood= is a dull reddish-brown. The transverse section shows indistinct light rings, close together, the pores small and scattered singly and widely throughout the hard and soft tissue which is clearly separated in thin, wavy concentric dark and light lines. The rays are exceedingly fine and invisible to the naked eye. In vertical section the pores show as if filled with some chalky matter and the grain is straight with the hard and soft tissue marked in fine lines, and the rays as numerous small bands in radial section. The wood is hard to saw and plane, picking up in places, but elsewhere finishes smooth. It is tough and strong and weighs 65 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are strap-shaped, some 12 inches long, 3-4 inches broad, with an inch stalk. The margin is waved, the mid-rib alone prominent on both surfaces. The venation is extremely delicate, visible when held to the light. The new leaves are bright red, the red colour fading from the base upwards. The surface is shining, the texture soft. Clustered round the end 3-4 inches of the twigs, they appear like rosettes. The delicate venation, short stalk and red tips distinguish it from the Shea.

=The Flowers= are in clusters on long stalks amongst the leaves and resemble Apple blossom. They are white, cup-shaped, 1½ inches across, with 5 notched white petals and a ring of numerous yellow stamens round a stout bifid pistil. The calyx consists of 5 sepals, 3 small and round, 2 larger and red tipped, the latter enlarging to form the wings of the seed. They are scented, visited by bees and appear from November to February.

=The Fruits= are winged seeds, the wings formed by the enlargement of the 2 sepals. At first red, they become light green and leathery, the larger 4 inches, the smaller 2 inches long. The fibrous-coated seed elongates till it is a pointed cone an inch long, light brown as are the now dry wings. The seed contains a single kernel, loose when ripe, about March. Few natives will allow that this tree has any seeds, even when shown them, a popular obstinacy.

=Uses.=—The wood is too tough to carpenter satisfactorily, but is suitable for building posts. The seed contains some 45 per cent. of oil, said to be suitable for soap after testing, but this is not extracted locally.

=MAERUA ANGOLENSIS= DC.—_Chichiwa_. CAPPARIDACEAE.

A small tree, widely distributed throughout savannahs of both types, flourishing equally well in dry sandy soils and richer loamy soils. It is straggling, often growing in the shade of other trees and partly supporting itself by them. In the open it is a slender tree about 15 feet in height, the stem dividing and the open low crown with drooping branches. Occasional examples will reach 25 feet with a 2 feet girth. It extends up to 13° N.

=The Bark= is dark grey to almost black. That of the smaller branches is dark brown, profusely spotted with small white lenticels which give it a mottled appearance, a most distinctive character. Galls on the new twigs and on the stem are very common.

=The Leaves= are simple, ovate, but variable in length to breadth, averaging 2 inches long and 1 inch broad. The tip is rounded or slightly cleft with a small projection of the mid-rib. The colour is pale and the surface smooth. The mid-rib is prominent beneath, otherwise the venation is practically unnoticeable. The stalks are ½-1 inch long and the last ¼ inch is thickened and bent at an angle and when the leaf is plucked the stalk nearly always parts at this bend.

=The Flowers= can be found from November to April and the individual flowers for a long time, almost ripe fruits and new flowers occurring at the same time. They are in leafy racemes of large size. Each has a slender stalk, a long column-like torus, 4 sepals which bend right back and finally fall off, no petals and a number of long white stamens, in the middle of which is the long slender style with the ovary at the tip. The lower part of the calyx is tubular, with the torus inside, and round its mouth is a toothed ring.

=The Fruit= forms at the end of the pistil, the sepals having fallen, the calyx tube shrunk and the toothed disc being exposed. It enlarges up to 6 inches in length and is constricted at intervals so that it looks like a string of irregular-sized beads. Sometimes two seeds lie alongside, and there may be as many as 30. The fruit is yellow and finally brown when ripe, and is similar in appearance to that of _Cassia goratensis_, though the restrictions are not so narrow as those of that species.

=MAERUA CRASSIFOLIA= Forsk.—_Jiga_. CAPPARIDACEAE.

A medium-sized tree from 15-30 feet high and up to 4 feet in girth, which grows in dry localities as far north as 14°. It is quite common in N.E. Sokoto. It has a short bole, up to 12 feet, with ascending branches and can be at once distinguished by its heavily pruned appearance, the lateral branches being very short and resembling _Randia nilotica_, the rosettes of leaves being borne on stunted shoots on long, straight, tough branches. The form varies from the short tree with wide, compact crown to the tall, narrow growth of larger specimens.

=The Bark= is dull grey, smooth in young trees and longitudinally scaled in older trees.

=The Leaves= are in tufts at the end of short woody shoots and are ¾ inch long and ⅓ inch wide, tapering at the base, with a broad tip, in the shallow cleft of which projects the mid-rib. They are a dull, dark green and limp and leathery in texture.

=The Flowers= which appear in February rise from the leaf-bearing shoots on ½ inch stalks. Each has a calyx of 4 sepals, light green, which fall back to the stalk with maturity, some 30 white stamens with green anthers, all rising from a short column, and a long pistil with thickened stigma. There is a faint perfume.

=The Fruits= are like those of _Maerua angolensis_; long, jointed pods formed by the growth of the clubbed pistil. They are brown when ripe and break into sections. The seeds are 10-20 in number and ripen about April.

=MIMOSA ASPERATA= Linn.—_Gumbi, Kaidaji, Kardaji_. LEGUMINOSAE.

A very common shrub which inhabits marshes, the banks of rivers and the fringes of lakes, in fact, any low-lying, inundated ground, forming dense, impenetrable thickets, often of large extent. On the banks of rivers it is frequently associated with a species of _Salix_ or willow. It has numerous stems and long erect or drooping shoots, 10 to 12 feet in length. The whole plant is covered with hairs.

=The Thorns= on the stems are in three’s, below each leaf, one thorn directly under the leaf, with a pair a little higher up on either side. The thorns on the stems are all the same size and shape, but those on the leaves differ as described below.

=The Leaves= are 3-5 inches long with 6-8 pairs of pinnae, bearing up to 40 pairs of long, narrow leaflets. The leaf is sensitive and folds up tight in the evening, the leaflets falling back under the mid-rib. On the upper side, between each pair of leaflets, is a short, slender and very sharp thorn, pointed well forward, and between the lower 4 or 5 pairs is a pair of sharp thorns with broad bases in the same plane as the leaflets. These thorns are absent in the upper part of the leaf. The young leaf is hairy.

=The Flowers= are in spherical heads about ½ inch in diameter, either white or mauve. Each minute flower has a calyx of 4 sepals, 8 stamens with white or mauve filaments and white anthers, and a long pistil.

=The Fruits= are pods, 2-2½ inches long, ½ inch wide and ⅛ inch thick, slightly curved. They are covered with erect, bristly hairs whose tips curve forward. On the green pod these hairs are golden brown; on the ripe pod they are unpleasantly penetrating. The pod splits transversely into 15-20 segments, each containing a small bean. The outer rim of the pod remains intact, the sections dropping out in the same manner as those of _Entada sudanica_.

=Uses.=—It is used as a fence round farms for protection against grazing, and in places where there is an acute shortage of fuel demands a price in the markets.

=MITRAGYNE AFRICANA= Korth.—_Giyeya_. _Giyaiya_. RUBIACEAE.

A large tree which inhabits “fadammas,” “tabkis” or annually inundated areas. It has several erect, straight stems ascending to a height of 60 feet in large specimens and the foliage reaches almost to ground level. From the branches, especially noticeable when one of these is horizontally inclined, are a number of slender erect shoots, like those of pollarded willow. The crown is the same width throughout with a narrowed or pointed top. The tree coppices very well and would provide a rotation crop if properly worked. It will not stand drought and a succession of dry years will kill the tree, subsequent wet years only serving to rot the dead trees. This is of frequent occurrence in the farthest north.

=The Bark= is light brown or grey and smooth, a few scales showing on the lower part of the stem in season. The slash is light brown, rapidly darkening.

=The Wood= is a very light brown. In transverse section the rings show broad bands of a darker colour, a purple tinge which is clearly seen in vertical, especially radial sections. The pores are minute, quite invisible to the naked eye, and with difficulty seen with the lens, in rows between the extremely fine rays which are waved and very close together. The grain is very close and fine; seasons well and is slightly liable to borer beetle attacks, works well with all tools, the plane producing a nice clean finish of a velvety nature. It is one of the best all-round timbers for many purposes and its small sizes are a great misfortune. The weight is 40 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= vary somewhat in shape from a narrow oval to a broad, rather square oval, both shapes with a pointed tip. They are 3-4 inches long and 2-2½ inches broad with ½-¾ inch stalk. They are in opposite pairs as is so typically seen at the base of the flower or seed head. They are paler beneath than below, very soft and thin in consistency and the venation appears almost white by contrast.

=The Flowers= are in yellowish balls an inch in diameter, sweet-scented and appearing at the beginning of the rains, though a few blooms may be found at odd seasons. Each flower is about ½ inch long with 5 long sepals narrow at the base, broad at the tip (obconical); a tubular corolla with 5 lobes between each of which protrudes the anther of a stamen, grey in colour; and a long pistil terminating in a reddish stigma, shaped like a bee-hive. The flowers are at first white and then turn yellow.

=The Fruits= are in spherical heads ¾ inch in diameter and dark brown in colour. Each fruit is what is called di-coccous, _i.e._, the fruit is formed of two separating carpels, containing seeds. The fruiting heads are most conspicuous and enable the tree to be identified from some distance.

=Uses.=—The timber has been used lately by the Industrial Schools with great success, and in Sokoto it has been found one of the best for all purposes where large sizes are not necessary. The native makes bowls and spoons from it and it is a good source of poles for building houses. It is supposed to rot rapidly if exposed to wet.

=MONOTES KERSTINGII= Gilg.—_Wasani, Gasa kura, Farin Rura_. DIPTEROCARPACEAE.

A small tree of the better types of savannah not extending much north of 11°, and very locally distributed. In certain localities, _e.g._, S.E. Sokoto and W. Bauchi, it is very abundant and over hundreds of square miles will be found pure in patches and elsewhere composing 40-50 per cent. of the growth. It is slender, erect, up to 30 feet in height, with a stem of 1½-2 feet in girth, with the stem bare of branches up to 10 feet and the crown high, open and narrow. Trees in the open will grow large, round, compact crowns. The distinguishing features are the very light under surface of the leaf and the enlarged sepals which surround the fruit. The species resembles _Parinarium_.

=The Bark= is grey with light patches and fairly smooth, with small, close-fitting, not very prominent scales. The slash is dark red.

=The Wood= is a light brown-pink. In transverse section the rings are distinct as numerous very close fine lines, the pores are minute, numerous and crowded in small festoons interspersed with numerous single pores, the soft tissue being poorly developed. The rays are so fine and close as to be only just visible with the lens. The grain is very close and wavy and the planed surface reflects the light so as to produce a “shot” appearance, with a sheen. The wood is very hard to work with saw and plane and very cross grained. The weight is 64 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are oval, some 4 inches long and 3 inches broad, slightly cordate at the base, broad at the tip, with a ½ inch long downy stalk. The upper surface is dark green, shining and rough to the touch, with the venation below the surface, and the mid-rib bends at each lateral. The under surface is grey and velvety, the whole venation being prominently marked. At the base of the leaf there is a curious oval space where the blade of the leaf meets over the stalk at the bottom and again at the third lateral, leaving a gap through which the base of the mid-rib seems to appear.

=The Flowers=, which appear in the rains, are in small axillary clusters, each about ½ inch in diameter, with a 5-pointed calyx, 5 long white pointed petals, a mass of long stamens filling the corolla and a short straight pistil. They are very inconspicuous.

=The Fruits= are capsules, ½ inch in diameter, roughly round and wrinkled when ripe, with 3 cells in each of which is a small seed loose in the cell. The capsule is hard, fibrous and loosely porous in transverse section. Round it are the 5 greatly enlarged sepals, modified into wings, bright red at first, then drying pale brown. The fruits are very persistent on the tree, many not falling till the new leaves appear. The red wings are conspicuous from a great distance.

=MORINGA PTERYGOSPERMA= Gaertn.—_Zogalagandi, Bagaruwar Makka_. MORINGACEAE.

This is a very familiar little tree, an exotic from India, which is planted in compounds in the north. It grows some 15-25 feet high with a single stem often forking or dividing into 2 or 3 stems at or near the ground. It is distinguished by its tripinnate leaves, white flowers and long triangular, pointed pods.

=The Bark= is a deep bluish grey and smooth.

=The Wood= is white, very soft and of no use whatever.

=The Leaves= are tripinnate, about a foot long, with some 6 pinnae, each with some 2-5 pinnules, some again with one or two pairs of leaflets and a terminal leaflet. The terminal leaflets are generally larger than the others and all are variable in size and shape from small oval to large spear-shaped leaflets. The foliage is very sparse and graceful.

=The Flowers= are white, in loose panicles, in flower for many months in the year, during the dry season. Each has a 5-parted calyx with unequal sepals, 5 white petals, the 2 upper ones smaller than the others, 5 stamens with and 5 stamens without anthers, and a slender style. The flowers are sweet-scented.

=The Fruits= are long, triangular capsules up to 18 inches long, slightly jointed, with 2 grooves down each side, a sharp beak at the tip, light brown in colour and splitting down the 3 edges to release the seeds. These are blackish with 3 papery wings so shaped as to overlap and fit into one another, the bottom of the one seed touching the top of the wings of the one below it. The white pith, with a sheen, is indented to hold the seeds.

=Uses.=—It is commonly used as a fencing to compounds, the mats or cornstalks of which the fence is composed being tied to the growing trees. The roots are eaten as horse-radish and the leaves fresh as a vegetable. The seeds yield a very fine oil (oil of Ben) which has been pronounced as suitable for watch lubrication.

=OCHNA HILLII= Hutch. OCHNACEAE.

This is a small tree, common locally in parts of Zaria, Bauchi and S. Sokoto, not extending north of 12°. It is as a rule slender and erect, up to 15 feet in height, older trees forming a round crown, younger ones often shrub-like. The yellow flowers and red and black fruiting stage are very conspicuous and the serrate obovate leaves are typical.

=The Bark= is smooth, a dull grey or brown, with small scales. The slash is yellow, rapidly darkening on exposure.

=The Leaves= are obovate, 3-4 inches long, 1½-2 inches broad, with cleft tip and finely serrate edges. The venation is prominent on the upper surface. The young leaves are shiny and tinted red, and the mature leaf is tougher and grey-green with a waxy bloom.

=The Flowers= are borne on a short woody shoot, 4 or 5 together with 1-2 inch, slender stalks. Each has a calyx of 5 pale green overlapping sepals, 5 yellow petals smaller than the sepals and a ring of numerous stamens round an erect pistil. The flowers appear in February or March and the petals sometimes only remain 24 hours on the flower.

=The Fruits= are drupes, or small plums, in a ring round the much swollen torus or disc. The sepals enlarge and turn crimson, as does the disc, and the seeds, at first green, turn black and shiny, shrivelling when the surrounding pulp dries up. The branches are often borne down by the weight of the large crop of fruit which is a most conspicuous feature. The elongated pistil and the remains of the stamens appear like bristles on the torus. Most of the seeds are destroyed by a grub.

=ODINA ACIDA= Walp.—_Farun mutane_. ANACARDIACEAE.

A large tree, similar in flowers, fruits and leaves to _O. Barteri_, but differing in the absence of hairs on leaves and flower spikes to the extent of those on _O. Barteri_, and distinguished from it at once by the very smooth bark. It reaches large sizes, but not great heights, the average proportion being some 30 feet high with a girth of 6-8 feet. A very short, stout bole divides into a number of large, widely spreading limbs, the twigs drooping down to near the ground. The crown is open and rounded and of great width, affording little shade. Its habitat is the granite country, where it grows in large quantities on the plains or up in the rocky hills, stunted specimens flourishing on almost bare rock with the roots in the smallest cracks. The branches are very flexible and can be bent almost double without snapping. It is called “Farun mutane” as against the “Farun doya” of _O. Barteri_, because it is used for food and medicine.

=The Bark= is silvery grey, smooth to the point of shining, with occasional scales and a few lenticels. Very old trees cast large scales from the lower trunk. The bark frequently shows a marked spiral twisting round the stem and there are folds and creases like a skin. Resin exudes from the slash which is light red and of crumbling texture.

=The Wood= is practically the same as that of _O. Barteri_, q.v., for the most part consisting of a soft, dirty white wood, readily sawn and planed and of little value, the small heartwood being red-brown. The weight is about 25 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are pinnate, 18 inches long with some 4 pairs of leaflets and a terminal leaflet. These are broad at the base, narrowing towards the tip, the margins sinuous, the basal lobes unequal, the short stalks flattened, the upper surface light green, shining, with a few hairs and a pronounced stickiness to the touch. They appear after the flowers. Young leaves are very slightly tinged red.

=The Flowers.= The spikes of both sexes appear from January to April. The male spikes are up to 9 inches in length, the flowers in irregular clusters with gaps, especially on the lower part of the spike, without flowers. Each has a small, 4-part calyx, 4 petals and 8 short, erect stamens. A few hairs are scattered about the spike, which is scented. The female spikes are some 3 inches long and sparsely flowered. Each has a small, 4-part calyx, 4 petals, the rudiments of 8 stamens and a rounded ovary with 4 stigmas. There is no scent. Though the spikes of both sexes appear well before the leaves, they may persist till the leaves are practically full grown.

=The Fruits= are similar to those of _O. Barteri_ but very shiny. They hang in dense clusters of spikes, ripening from green to red to a purplish black, resembling cherries. There is a thin skin and juicy flesh round a large, hard stone containing a white kernel attached to the top and not filling the cavity. The fruits ripen in June and the crop is often prolific.

=Uses.=—The fruits are eaten fresh. The bark is boiled in water and the infusion taken as a medicine for stomach troubles.

=ODINA BARTERI= Oliv.—_Farun doya_. ANACARDIACEAE.

A very common tree in open savannahs, flourishing in deep or shallow soils, preferably of granite composition, and plentiful amongst rocks. It is a large tree up to 40 feet in height with girths of 6-8 feet and its characters are a short bole, rarely over 10 feet, and large spreading limbs forming a wide open crown. The branches are very pliant and the twigs droop. This and _O. acida_ occur over large areas together, the rough bark and hairy leaves distinguishing the former.

=The Bark= is almost black and very rough, with deep, vertical fissures and long heavy scales which fall in large ragged lengths. The stem is thus often very shaggy. The slash is salmon pink with paler streaks.

=The Wood= is dirty white, with bluish and brown discolorations. In transverse section the rings are indistinct; the pores are very small, numerous, single and fairly evenly distributed; the rays fine and close together, hardly visible to the unaided eye. In vertical section the grain is rather coarse, there are no bands of colour and often a number of small knots. The wood is soft, of poor quality, easily worked and of the quality of _Bombax_. The weight is only 25 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are some 18 inches long, pinnate, with some 4 pairs and a terminal leaflet. These are spear-shaped, about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide, with very short, thick stalks. They are dark green, densely covered with short hairs and limp and flaccid. The young leaf shoots are a reddish-brown and densely pubescent.

=The Flowers= are in spikes, the male and female on separate trees. The male are in 5-6 inch spikes, up to a dozen spikes at a twig tip, often so numerous on the leafless tree as to render it conspicuous from a great distance. They appear from January to April, and are scented. The flowers are in clusters round the spike, not completely covering it. Each has a 4-lobed calyx, 4 small petals, 8 erect stamens and the rudiments of an ovary with 4 stigmas. The flowers fall from the spikes, leaving them bare. The female flowers are on shorter spikes, the flowers are fewer in number and evenly distributed on the spike. Each has a 4-lobed calyx, 4 small petals and an ovary with 4 stigmas. They are not scented. Both spikes are very pubescent.

=The Fruits= are nuts, flattened ovoids with the stigmas prominent at the tip. They ripen about March to May and are reddish purple, the flesh very resinous and the white kernel attached to the top. They are ½ inch long and are borne in heavy clusters of spikes, generally erect and stiffer than those of _O. acida_.

=Uses.=—No part of the tree is edible as in the case of _O. acida_.

=ORMOCARPUM BIBRACTEATUM= Baker.—_Faskara giwa_. _Tsa_. LEGUMINOSAE.

A small, erect tree up to some 25 feet in height with 1-2 feet girth, locally very plentiful but otherwise infrequent, _e.g._, in the Anka district of Sokoto it occurs in vast numbers, but nowhere else in the province, and in one or two places in Bauchi small clumps of it are seen. At first sight it is very like an _Acacia_, with its erect branches and pinnate leaves. The stem branches generally low down, occasionally at a height of 8-10 feet, and the branches are vertical, so that the tree has no width of crown. Owing to the scarcity of the smaller branches the vertical ones are crowded with leaves, and from February to April with flowers, for several feet, there being no side twigs, these being replaced by small shoots covered with bracts.

=The Bark= is silvery grey with a soft sheen, smooth and very thick, large scales peeling off in season. The effect of fire on young stems is to produce great bosses of light brown cork, often charred. The slash is yellow.

=The Leaves= are about 2-3 inches long, pinnate, with some 6-8 opposite or sub-opposite leaflets and a terminal leaflet. These are ¼-⅜ inch long and about ³⁄₁₆ inch broad, oval, with or without a slightly notched tip in which the mid-rib protrudes slightly. They are grey-green and hairy and each springs from between a pair of bracts on the twig.

=The Flowers= are very handsome “Pea-flowers” in small clusters on long stalks, branched, with a bract at each branch, springing from small clusters of bracts on the woody stems. The stalks are purple and hairy, the calyx is irregular, purple and green, and the corolla is a delicate pink with a pale green keel. The flowers are generally in great masses and a curious characteristic is that they dry up and retain almost their original shape, the pod ripening meanwhile.

=The Fruits= are small black jointed pods 1-1½ inches long with some 4-5 joints, oval, flattened and hairy, each containing one seed, pale brown in colour. The pod will often bend right round and its tip enter the mouth of the flower.

=OSTRYODERRIS CHEVALIERI= Dunn.—_Durbi_. LEGUMINOSAE.

A large tree some 40 feet or more high, common in some parts of Sokoto, Zaria and Katsina, but very local in its occurrence and extending as far north as 13°. The girth is up to 7 feet, more often 5 feet. It closely resembles _Paradaniellia Oliveri_ in bark and leaf and form, especially in young trees of the latter species. The bole may be clean and straight for 20 feet and the crown is high and flat-topped in full grown trees. It does not grow on poor soils and its extension to 13° is by way of moister valleys and pockets of alluvial soil. The pods and flowers are the distinctive features.

=The Bark= is light grey with a strong resemblance to that of _Paradaniellia Oliveri_, the scales being even-sized, polygonal but not so large as those of _P. Oliveri_. Nor has it the red tinge of the latter. The slash is most distinctive, being a mixture of fibres of white, dark brown and crimson, like strands of wire.

=The Wood= is whitish or cream-coloured. In transverse section the rings are indistinct but the concentric lines of hard and soft tissue are well marked. The pores are single or in small groups, unequally scattered. The rays are invisible to the unaided eye, and waved slightly. In vertical section the pores are long and open, the hard and soft tissue well marked in parallel lines and the rays show as long, fine bands on the radial section. The wood is soft, medium weight, shows red streaks, is easily worked and the planed surface is smooth. It has a curious smell, The weight is 45 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are pinnate, 10-15 inches long with some 6 pairs and a terminal leaflet. The leaflets are opposite or nearly so and increase in size towards the top pair, the largest 3 inches long and 1½ broad, with cordate base, unequal lobes and an even taper to a rounded, cleft tip. The upper side is bluish-green with a bloom, the underneath pale grey-green. The venation is prominent beneath.

=The Flowers=, from February to April, are in erect panicles on the stout twig ends, some dozen or so on each twig. Each flower is white, papilionaceous, ¾ inch long. The calyx is covered with brown hairs, as are the flower-stalks and there is a green splash in the centre of the standard petal. The panicles are 6-8 inches long, gradually drooping.

=The Fruits= are pods, at first limp and green, then brittle and dark brown. They are 3-6 inches long, 1¾ inches broad, flat and strap-shaped, the surface veined, and a prominent ridge runs round the outside a little way from the edge, outside which ridge there is no veining. The seeds, more often 1 than 2, are slightly embossed, and are flat, brown, round beans with a white hilum. The pods ripen from May onwards and numbers of them persist on the tree till the following flowering season.

=PARADANIELLIA OLIVERI= Rolfe.—_Maje, Kadaura_. “_Copaiba Balsam Tree_.” LEGUMINOSAE.

This is one of the largest trees of the savannahs and gives an enormous volume of timber. It reaches a height of 80 feet and girths of 12 feet are common. A girth of 26 feet combined with a 40 feet bole has been measured. It has a gregarious habit similar to _Khaya senegalensis_ on the edges of “fadammas” and in flat country where water lies during the rainy season. Hundreds of saplings may be found round these clumps. It is most readily distinguished from other species, at a distance, by the straight, light-grey stem, which is generally tapering in form, and by the shape of its crown which is triangular with a flat top. The crown is dense and dark, the limbs at an angle of about 30 degrees to the bole and the bulk of the foliage being on the summit. The bole is generally swollen at the base. It is a very fast growing species.

=The Bark= is very light in colour, this being emphasised at a distance. It is rough with large even-sized scales. The bark of saplings, owing to the annual fires, is very thick and scaly, cracking in horizontal rings round the stem. This forms a highly protective covering. An oleo-resin, or balsam, exudes from the slash, which is dark crimson with small white streaks.

=The Wood=, of which a great volume is yielded by the tree, is red-brown with darker streaks. In transverse section the rings are fairly well defined dark, regular lines, the pores are large, mostly single, widely and fairly evenly distributed, the rays fine, continuous, unevenly spaced but 3 to 4 to each pore, bending in a curious manner where they cross the lines of soft tissue, just visible with the naked eye. In radial section the rays are small light-reflecting bands and in the tangential section are clearly visible as fine ripples. The sapwood is whitish with a faint brown or pinkish tinge, and the rays are very clearly marked on the two vertical sections. This is a very good light-weight timber, very easily worked and not very durable or strong, but its large sizes, soundness and appearance enhance its value. It has a most pleasant cedar-wood smell. Weight 44 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are 18 inches long, pinnate with some 6 pairs of large, pointed, dark-green, shiny leaflets. The young leaves are soft and pink in colour.

=The Flowers= are conspicuous, chiefly at the top of the tree, in large, flat panicles, in December. The flowers stand erect on the horizontal panicle and consist of a 5-lobed, imbricate calyx, one sepal being smaller than the others, greenish-white in colour; 10 white stamens, 2 inches long and a long, white pistil which swells to form the seed-pod. The flower parts are borne on a stout club-shaped receptacle.

=The Fruit= is a flat pod, about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide, whitish in colour. It splits by the curling up of the inner layers and frees one oval, flat, dark-brown seed, the rudiments of 3 or 4 others being visible attached to the suture. The open pods with large brown seeds hanging from their edges are a conspicuous feature in masses on the tree tops, the seeds and pods remaining some time in position before being blown down.

=Uses.=—The timber is made into planks, mortars, canoes and cattle-troughs. The resin is burnt in houses as a fumigating incense.

In times of extreme famine, the young leaves are appreciated as a vegetable, being eaten with the addition of salt and pepper.

=PARINARIUM CURATELLAEFOLIUM= Planch.—_Rura, Gwanja kusa_. ROSACEAE.

A small and very common tree averaging 15-20 feet high with a girth of 1-2 feet. It has no form or special characteristic of growth, being similar to the many other species with which it occurs in open savannah forests. Its only importance lies in its occurrence in large quantities over considerable areas. It is readily distinguished from other species by its flowers and fruits, which latter may be seen for several months in the year.

=The Bark= is very dark, sometimes almost black, with small, prominent, corky scales up to 1 inch square. The slash is a dull, dark red.

=The Wood= is light brown, with a slight orange tinge. In transverse section the rings show as slightly darker lines, the pores are small, oval, with their length radial, single, not numerous, and connected by continuous waved concentric lines of soft tissue. The rays are extremely fine and very close together, quite invisible to the naked eye. In vertical section the pores are open and slightly darker, the grain close. It is a soft, sound wood, easily worked, planing with a dull, smooth finish, not picking up much. The weight is 48 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are about 5 inches long and 2½ inches broad. They are alternate, pale green and smooth above and greyish beneath.

=The Flowers= are in long, dense or open, terminal panicles, a number together. They are greenish in colour, the whole panicle covered with a light pubescence. Each flower consists of a grey-green, 5-pointed calyx, 5 minute white petals and 10 stamens, some with pink anthers. They appear about December or January, and are conspicuous by their numbers on the leafless tree.

=The Fruits= are reddish-brown drupes, about an inch long, the skin covered with a number of small, grey lenticels. They have a reddish, sweet, edible flesh and a large, hard stone. They ripen towards the end of the year and are the readiest means of identification of the species.

=Uses.=—The fruits are eaten fresh.

The young trees are cut for poles for building (gofa).

=PARINARIUM MACROPHYLLUM= Sabine.—_Gawasa_. “_Ginger-Bread Plum_.” ROSACEAE.

A common tree locally in parts of the more northerly provinces. It is not found distributed evenly through the forests but in numbers over small areas here and there. It is very highly valued by the native for its fresh fruit and protected on farm lands. It is a thick-set, squat tree with a short, heavy stem and wide-spreading, crooked branches forming a round or flat crown. It is from 15-25 feet high, sometimes more, with a girth up to 8 feet. The foliage, owing to the size of the leaves, is dense. It is somewhat similar to its congener, _P. curatellaefolium_, but the leaves are larger, the flowers heavier and the whole tree on a larger scale. It grows in dry, sandy soils.

=The Bark= is grey and not rough, covered with small even-sized scales.

=The Wood= is a light brown colour, frequently with large grey discolorations darkening the colour. In transverse section the rings are obscure bands, the pores are small, few and distributed rather unevenly, single, connected by very faintly marked and poorly developed soft tissue lines. The rays are exceedingly fine and very close together. In vertical section the pores are few and fine and the grain is close. It is a fairly hard wood, sawing well and planing with little picking up to a hard, smooth finish which polishes well. Weight 45 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are some 5 inches long and 3-4 inches wide on the average, but may be as much as 8 inches long and 5 inches wide, with a stout stalk not above ¼ inch long. They are slightly cordate at the base and broad at the tip with a small point. There are some 15-20 straight veins on each side of the mid-rib, sunken on the upper surface and very prominent on the underneath. The upper surface is a brilliant light green gradually darkening with age, the under side grey. There is a dusty brown covering of hairs on the upper surface, which rubs off readily in the hand and exposes the smooth green surface. The stalk is densely covered with brown hairs.

=The Flowers= are in terminal racemes from 3-9 inches long, all parts except the petals covered with the hairs. Each flower has a 5-lobed calyx, 5 white petals in 2 groups of 3 and 2, 10-20 white stamens with yellow anthers and a curved, white pistil. The flower in bud is enclosed in 2 bracts which are pushed up by expansion of the flower and then fall off the end. The flowers are found on the tree every month of the year, a continual succession of flowers and fruit occurring.

=The Fruits=, which are found all the year round, are plums, reddish-brown with an orange tint, rounded or oblong, 1½-2 inches long and 1-1½ inches broad, the surface roughened with numerous grey lenticels. The sweet, edible flesh is whitish, moist and mealy, about ½ inch thick round the very tough, thick stone which has one or two “kernels.” The ripe fruit has a sickly sweet smell.

=Uses.=—The wood of large specimens makes very good mortars.

The fruits are highly appreciated and eaten fresh. They are brought to the big towns from long distances in some places and will sell for as much as a penny each in the markets.

=PARKIA FILICOIDEA= Welw.—_Dorowa_. “_Locust Bean Tree_.” LEGUMINOSAE.

This is the type tree of the Park formations and a very common and well-known species with a wide distribution. Owing to its great value as a food and its uses by the natives, it is often the sole occupant of extensive areas of cultivation. It grows to large sizes, 50-60 feet high with girths of 10 feet or more. The bole, in the case of trees which are grown in the open, is short, not, as a rule, above 10 or 12 feet, and several large, spreading limbs form a very wide crown which appears dark and dense at a distance, but which, in fact, gives only average shade. There are small, rounded root-flanges. All trees near habitation are owned by the individual. Those in the forests have a different habit of growth, the bole being longer, the branches more erect and the crown less spreading. The large crowns of the park trees are generally due to the cutting of the branches for fuel. _See_ USES. The tree pollards well and shoots readily from the stool. It is liable to attack from white ants when young, and to the ravages of caterpillars which may completely defoliate the tree.

=The Bark= is dark brown or dull grey, with small, regular scales of varying roughness. The branches and the stems of young trees are a light grey, almost silvery, and smooth. The bark at the base of the tree is often much chipped about by the natives who make an infusion of it, drunk as a tonic. The slash is brick red, spongy and fibrous in thin layer formation.

=The Wood.= The heartwood is a dull brown colour, the sapwood a dirty yellow. Even the largest stems, 3-4 feet in diameter, cut in the north, show none of this heartwood. In transverse section the rings are faint and wide apart, the pores are large, open, fairly regularly distributed in the well-marked soft tissue festoons, with nests of 3 or 4 here and there. The rays are straight, continuous, evenly spaced, not all the same thickness, and show as long, light-reflecting bands in radial section. In vertical section the grain is fairly open, the hard and soft tissue giving a mottled appearance in tangential section. The wood is most easily worked with all tools, planes with a dull finish and though liable to crack a little is on the whole a sound, though weak, timber. The weight is only 32 lbs. a cubic foot.

=The Leaves= are bipinnate, 15-18 inches long, with opposite, pinnate leaflets bearing numerous dark green pinnules, oblique, ¾ inch long, alternate but nearly opposite towards the tip. They have a shining surface, and the young leaf is reddish.

=The Flowers= are pendulous balls some 2½ inches in diameter on a 7 inch stalk. They appear in March before the new leaves or with them and are dark red in colour and sweet-scented. They consist of 10 long, red stamens with black anthers and a simple style, in a 5-lobed calyx with honey glands. The flowers are visited both by bees and flies. Called “tutu” by the native, boys suck the balls for the honey. The flower-buds are called “gundar tutu.”

=The Fruit= is a bean, some 9 inches long, dark brown in colour, in pendulous clusters on the tree in July. When young they are called “sabada”; when brown, but before ripening, they are called “garda.” The ripe seeds are black and embedded in a yellow, mealy pulp. They are of great value as an annual food-crop.

=Uses.=—The timber is used for making mortars and basins. The seeds are fermented and made into cakes called “daudawa.”

The husks are soaked in water till fermentation takes place and the resulting liquid spread over earth floors and on the walls of dye-pits to bind the surface. The liquid is called “makuba” and is also used as a fish poison.

The branches are cut for fuel for the boiling of the water used in the purification of women after child-birth.

The mealy pulp round the seeds (garin dorowa) is used in soup.

An infusion of the bark is a tonic.

=PARKINSONIA ACULEATA= Linn.—_Sasabani, Sharan labbi_. “_Jerusalem Thorn_.” LEGUMINOSAE.

A small exotic tree introduced by Arabs and planted in most of the Northern towns to such an extent that it is worthy of inclusion here. It is a delicate and graceful shrub-like tree up to 25 feet high. It has a single stem branched a foot or two above ground level; in some cases there is a stem over 6 feet in length before the branches, erect, with their ends spreading out and drooping down, occur. It grows best in an open position and does not thrive in the shade, where it grows very weak and straggling, without the vivid green of trees in the open.

=The Bark= is bright green and smooth.

=The Thorns= are straight and sharp, ¼ inch long, light red in colour with thickened, fleshy green bases from which spring the leaves. The scars of fallen leaves can be seen on this thickened base.

=The Leaves= are bipinnate with one or two pairs of pinnae which consist of a broad, flat mid-rib some 9 inches long from which little oval leaflets under ¼ inch long spring alternately. These are sensitive and at night, or when gathered, fold inwards and lie flat on the mid-rib. The rib and leaflets are dark green and smooth.

=The Flowers= are in pendulous, sparse spikes amongst the leaves. Each is an inch in diameter and has 5 pale green sepals, 5 crinkly yellow petals, one of which is more prominent than the rest and forms a throat covered with small red spots. There are 10 short stamens with red anthers and a short brown pistil. The flowers are found most months of the year.

=The Fruits= are jointed pods, varying in length according as they contain 1-6 seeds, the longest being 6-7 inches long. They are jointed, light brown and veined, and when ripe are very light and brittle. The seeds are ⅓ inch long, black, oval, round in cross section, very hard and smooth and rattling loose in the pod. They may be found for some months in the year, particularly in February.

=Uses.=—Ornamental and shade providing.

=PROSOPIS OBLONGA= Benth.—_Kiriya_. LEGUMINOSAE.