=The Flowers= appear in March and April, mostly at the base of the new leaf shoot, a few only amongst the leaves higher up. They are in spikes or panicles up to 12 inches long, numerous, pendulous and conspicuous. The small white flowers are crowded and each consists of a minute calyx, 5 white petals which bend back in half, concealing the tips, 10 yellow-anthered stamens and a short blunt, curved pistil. The pentagonal shape of the corolla with its recurved petals and the erect stamens are noticeable. There is no scent. =The Fruits= are pods, 2 inches long, 1 inch broad, thin, not flat, but tending to twist at the tip, forming a convex and concave side on the latter, of which the seed is clearly embossed. The colour is mahogany brown, veined, brittle and persistent. There is one brown, oval flat seed. [Illustration] =BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII= Kotschy.—_Kadanya, Kadai_. “_Shea Butter Tree_.” SAPOTACEAE. This is one of the commonest species of the savannah forests and has a wide distribution. An average tree is about 30 feet high with a girth of 4-5 feet, though large specimens over 40 feet high with a girth of 10 feet are by no means infrequent. A short, stout bole and large, spreading limbs, gnarled and crooked, form a widely spreading crown of considerable density, which, from the drooping habit of the lower branches, reaches almost to the ground in many specimens. It is the type species of the tree savannah and in some parts of the country forms a large percentage of the forests. =The Bark= is a distinguishing feature of the species and is dark grey, sometimes almost black, sometimes, particularly in the case of trees growing in barren situations, almost white. It has deep, vertical fissures and prominent, square scales of great thickness. The rough scaling extends to the quite small branches. A milky sap exudes from the crimson slash and from the leaf-stalks and twigs, when broken. =The Wood= is a deep, dull red-brown with a purple tinge, the sapwood is pinkish. In transverse section the rings are indistinct lines and bands of dark and light tissue, the pores are small and in little rows between the fine rays, bands of soft tissue running in concentric lines and also connecting the chains of pores. The wood is extremely hard and heavy, difficult to saw and very hard to plane, the resulting finish being hard and taking a high polish. The grain picks up in part and the wood is liable to crack when dried. The weight is 80 lbs. a cubic foot. =The Leaves= are strap-like, of an average length of 9-10 inches and a width of 2 inches; 3-4 inches of the length are occupied by the stalk and the veining is strong, these two features and the darker colour distinguishing this species from _Lophira alata_ which it superficially resembles. The springing of the leaves from the end 2 inches of the twigs gives the idea of a rosette. The margin of the leaf is waved.