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= which appear in October, are in large branched heads, a
mass of buds prolonging the flowering period. The flower blooms for one
day and then dries crisp, retaining its shape more or less when dry.
Each flower is an inch across, funnel-shaped, white, with veined and
crinkled corolla with 5 indistinct lobes. There are 5 black-anthered
stamens and a twice-forked style with 4 stigmas. The 5-toothed calyx
is a short tube and is heavily ribbed. The flowers have no stalks and
there is a slight perfume.
=The Fruits= are in clusters; round juicy drupes with a hard stone and
yellow translucent flesh, edible and sweet. They are ½ inch in diameter.
=Uses.=—The fruits are eaten, either fresh or mixed with honey to make
a sweetmeat “alewa.”
[Illustration]
=CRATAEVA ADANSONII= DC.—_Gude_. CAPPARIDACEAE.
A medium sized tree found growing locally in considerable quantities
in “fadammas.” It attains a height of about 30 feet with a girth of
4-5 feet. Owing to the fact that the leaves are cropped as a human
foodstuff, few trees retain their natural form and the general
appearance is that of a pollard willow, with a short, stout stem and
a number of erect slender shoots, inclined to bend down. Owing to its
being liable to submersion for certain periods, the stem is frequently
in a semi-recumbent position and from it spring a number of shoots
forming a false crown. It is a very handsome tree in full flower and
the delicate foliage is attractive.
=The Bark= is a light brown with a few crisp scales here and there.
That of the branches is smoke-colour, densely covered with light brown
lenticels. That of the new twigs is pale brown.
=The Wood= is very soft and of a rich yellow colour. It has a strong
not unpleasant odour. It is of no practical use.
=The Leaves= are trifoliate with a stalk some 3 inches long and the
leaflets from 3-4 inches long and an inch wide. They are narrow at
both ends, light green and smooth, tender in consistency. They are in
whorl-like bunches at the tips of the twigs.
=The Flowers= are very handsome and appear in February at the tips of
the twigs in clusters of 10-20. Each has 4 small pale green sepals, 4
large leaf-like white petals grouped round one-half of the calyx and
some 18 inch-long mauve stamens with mauve anthers. The pistil, which
appears prominent in length after fertilisation is some 1½ inches long,
with a knob at the end.
=The Fruit= is very like that of _Strychnos_ (kokiya) in appearance,
a pale brown sphere from 1½-3 inches in diameter on a woody stalk
about 2½ inches long. The inside contains a number of small dark brown
seeds of quaint “curled-up” shape embedded in a white, mealy flesh.
The “rind” of the fruit is thin and crisp. The fruits are ripe about
November onwards. They are eaten by birds who pick out the contents and
leave the empty “shell” on the tree.
=Uses.=—The leaves are considerably eaten by the natives, and in times
of famine are taken great distances to the markets.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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