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
[Illustration]
=CROSSOPTERYX KOTSCHYANA= Fenzl.—_Kasfiya_. _Kashin awaki_. RUBIACEAE.
This fairly common tree occurs more plentifully in localities which
are flooded during the rains and baked hard and burnt bare in the dry
season. Thus it may take the place of _Mitragyne africana_ (giyeya)
in wet-season fadammas where the grass is rank in growth. It is not,
however, confined, like the above, to such situations, but abounds in
open savannah and rocky places. It is most readily identified by its
fruits, q.v. and also by its habit of sending up a number of stems
from a common stock, these stems growing erect and close together and
showing an irregular cross section, oval, grooved or flattened in shape
by reason of this close proximity to each other. In form the tree is
cylindrical with a rounded or pointed top and sparse foliage. The
foliage extends almost to the ground. A height of 30 feet and 2-3 feet
girth is usual.
=The Bark= is peculiar in structure and is light grey or brownish, with
small grey scales which will crumble in the hand and appear to consist
of numerous lenticels. It is smooth and the scales are not prominent.
The slash is salmon pink and crumbling.
=The Wood= is a brown pink, not unlike Pear wood. In transverse section
the pores and rays are scarcely visible, so close is the texture. The
rings show as faint light lines, close together, and the minute pores
are scattered about between the exceedingly fine and numerous rays. The
grain shows as slight banded variations in depth of colour. It is a
sound, hard wood which seasons well, saws and planes easily to a hard,
smooth finish, taking a good polish. The small sizes are unfortunate.
Weight 57 lbs. a cubic foot.
=The Leaves= are about 3½ inches long and 2 inches broad, alternate
and inclined to assume one plane. They are pale green and downy on the
upper surface, roughly and intricately veined beneath with light brown
velvety hairs on the veins.
=The Flowers= are in close bunches with a tendency to droop from
their weight; each flower consisting of a small 5-lobed calyx, a long
tubular corolla with 5 petals, white tinged with pink, and a long,
clubbed pistil surrounded by 5 small, protruding stamens. They are
sweet-scented and appear in February.
=The Fruits= are easily recognised, forming bunches similar to the
heads of flowers. Each is a small blackish capsule with a black tip,
and it splits into two sections across the two seeds which are the
shape of half the capsule and are black. They are very persistent and
remain on the tree for a long time after they have shed their seeds.
=Uses.=—The stems are cut for poles (gofas).
[Illustration]
=CROTON AMABILIS= Müll. Arg.—_Koriba_. EUPHORBIACEAE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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