=The Leaves= are large and pinnate with an average of 7 leaflets, dark-green and shiny. The young leaves are bright red and glistening and pass through every shade from this to the ultimate brilliant green of the new mature leaf. This is most noticeable after a fire when the forest is a blaze of colour. The leaves vary very considerably in size and average some 15-18 inches, those of smaller trees being much larger. =The Flowers=, which are similar in both species, are in large panicles, and each consists of 5 white, uneven-sized petals and 10 long stamens. The sepals are small, narrow and white, and the whole flower is enclosed in a hard, round, blackish-green sheath which splits into two portions in which the flower rests. They appear in February. =The Fruit= is a large, broad, flat pod some 12 inches long and 3 inches wide, a dull green in colour with a smooth surface. It contains some 4 or 5 large oval, flat, pale-brown seeds which are distributed by the violent splitting of the pod, the two halves separating with a report and curling up into a spiral. =Uses.=—The young trees are used for house-building poles, but only last for a season as they are very soft and readily attacked by white ants and borer-beetles. Large trees are cut into planks for local use, but the timber is very inferior. [Illustration] =KHAYA SENEGALENSIS= Juss.—_Madachi_. “_Mahogany_.” MELIACEAE. This common and well-known Dry Zone Mahogany occurs more or less plentifully all over the north and has a distribution from the rain forest to the French boundary. Its habitat is the banks of streams but its soil and water requirements are comparatively modest and any little valley or moist hollow is sufficient. It abounds in the more northerly “kurmis,” and on the edges of “fadammas” often shows a gregarious habit, clumps of a dozen or so growing close together. Normally it is a small tree some 50-60 feet high with a girth of 6-8 feet, but 70-80 feet and a 10 feet girth are common. Usually not more than 20 feet of its height is clean bole, but no rule can be laid down, as the stem may or may not divide into 2 or 3 large limbs which ascend vertically and form the characteristic open, wide-spreading crown. In the gregarious clumps the tree may have as many as 5 or 6 of these false stems and form an enormous crown. The bole and main limbs show a wavy habit, especially noticeable in smaller trees. The base of the bole is often much swollen by the repeated bark chipping for the bitter tonic. =The Bark= is dark grey and covered with small, thin scales. A red sap exudes from the bright crimson slash.