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 Flowers= are in large terminal panicles, sometimes nearly a foot
wide. The flowers are in composite heads about ½ inch long, with some
20 flowers in an involucre of pale green scales, the corolla and bifid
style white. The flowers are found mostly in the rains.
=The Fruit= is a seed, or achene, with the usual pappus or ring of
bristles by which it is distributed on the wind. The “thistle-down”
heads are about ½ inch in diameter.
=Uses.=—The root is used as a chew-stick for cleaning the teeth and as
tonic bitters. The leaves are used medicinally.
[Illustration]
=VITEX CIENKOWSKII= Kotschy & Peyr.—_Dinya, Dunya_. VERBENACEAE.
A large tree which occurs more or less evenly distributed throughout
the forests. It is rather exacting as a rule as to soil conditions and
will not flourish in poor situations, preferring deep soils. It grows
to a height of 30-40 feet with girths of 6 or 7 feet, and specimens 10
feet in girth are by no means uncommon. It can be distinguished at a
distance by its very large, dense, dark green and regular crown with
rounded top. The crown, in the case of trees grown in the open, comes
to within 6-10 feet of the ground. Examples growing in the forest
exhibit a distinct form, with longer boles and higher, more cylindrical
crowns, and the branches ascend at an acute angle to the stem. It is a
prolific fruiting species, but more often than not the fruits are burnt
on the ground by the grass fires which occur from December on, the
months when the fruits fall. It grows very well from the seeds which
retain their germinating qualities for some time.
=The Bark=, which is a very distinctive feature, is light brown or
grey, appearing smooth at a distance, and is fibrous in appearance
with very narrow and long, vertical fissures and stringy ridges. It is
often much darker on the limbs than on the stem. The slash is yellow,
darkening on exposure.
=The Wood= is light brown, rather like Teak. In transverse section the
rings are indistinct darker lines, the pores are large, open, mostly
single, with a few double pores. The rays are plainly visible, broad,
waved, unevenly spaced, with sometimes room for two pores between.
The soft tissue round the pores is very poorly developed. In vertical
section the pores are distinctive for their curves and the rays are
plainly visible as brown flecks in tangential and iridescent bands in
radial section. Some of the pore contents glisten. The wood is soft,
coarse but nicely grained, very easy to saw and plane, with a soft
finish and no polish. The weight is 53 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are digitate with usually 5, sometimes 6, lobes. They
are about 8 inches across, but vary considerably in size and have a 4
inch stalk. A round, pointed leaf-gall is common on the leaves, which
are dark green with a bloom on the upper surface and paler with raised
venation on the under surface. The young leaves are a deep red-purple.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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