The useful trees of northern NigeriaLely, Hugh Vandervaes
Science
The useful trees of northern Nigeria
Lely, Hugh Vandervaes
Plants, Useful -- Nigeria, Northern; Trees -- Nigeria, Northern
=The Leaves= are in terminal tufts on the thick twigs, at first erect,
then drooping, and are 15 inches long with a heavy stalk covered with
velvety hairs. The leaflets average 4 pairs with a terminal leaflet and
increase in size from below upwards, the basal pair being nearly round
and the others increasing in length, with a tapered base and broad
cleft tip. The mid-rib of each leaflet projects slightly just below
the cleft tip, not actually in the cleft. The upper surface is a rich,
smooth green, the underside paler, with prominent nerves, sunk on the
upper surface of the leaf.
=The Flowers= are nearly an inch in diameter, appearing from February
onwards. They are in short, stout racemes with a hairy bract at the
base of each flower. They appear before the leaves and flower till the
leaves are almost full grown. Each has a calyx of 5 sepals which cups
the corolla of 5 long greenish petals whose face is concave and tips
curved as in the bud. The stamens are joined for half their length and
form a ring round the pistil whose globular stigma surmounts them.
=The Fruits= are prominent capsules, ripening to a rich red colour
before drying brown. They are 4-segmented with an uneven surface and
a prominent “nose,” and contain 4 cells with a seed in each, not
always distinctly separated or fully developed. The fruits are most
conspicuous amongst the leaves.
=Uses.=—The local uses are few, the oil being rarely expressed, and the
root occasionally used as a mild purge, unpopular owing to its extreme
bitterness. The oil is, however, valuable from other parts of Africa,
and has been exported, the seeds containing some 60 per cent. of oil
suitable for soap and candles and has been valued at £9 10s. per ton of
seed.
[Illustration]
=UAPACA GUINEENSIS= Müll. Arg.—_Kafafogo_. EUPHORBIACEAE.
A large tree up to 40 feet high with 6-8 feet girth. It occurs as
almost pure forest in some localities, is very local, requires good
soils and rainfalls, and in such conditions does not, as a rule,
exceed 30 feet high with 3-4 feet girths. It is especially common in
S. Sokoto, Kontagora, on the escarpments of the Bauchi Plateau and in
parts of Zaria Province and on the Plateau itself attains large sizes
on the banks of small streams. It is most easily recognised by its
shining rosettes of leaves, wax-like yellow flowers or yellow fig-like
fruits. It has an erect stem, short bole, whorled branches and regular
rounded crown, not very dense from the shade point of view. Its leaf
fall covers the ground and little grows beneath it.
=The Bark= is black, with small, round, even-sized, closely packed
scales, often lichenous. Very old trees lose these scales at the base
and a brown, fibrous looking bark replaces them. The small black scales
are borne almost to the tips of the branches. The slash is red.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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