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 Fruits= are large pods from 4-6 inches long and an inch in
diameter, slightly flattened in one direction, pointed at the tip, a
dark, purple-brown colour. The hard, shiny, brown seeds, oval and ⅓
inch long, are embedded in a dry, cream-coloured, spongy-looking pulp,
each separated from the other by a thin, transparent membrane. The
seeds rattle loose in the pod. The pods are very persistent on the tree.
=Uses.=—The natives use the wood for tool handles and burn it for
charcoal, the quality of which is very fine and much valued by
blacksmiths.
The wood is also used for making pestles for large mortars and the
manufacture of tobacco pipes.
[Illustration]
=PSEUDOCEDRELA KOTSCHYI= Harms.—_Tuna(s)_. MELIACEAE.
This species, which is closely allied to the mahoganies (_Khaya_), is
a large and valuable timber tree and occurs particularly in groups,
or singly here and there in the Tree savannah. It is a handsome tree,
regular in shape, with a straight stem and a bole of often 20 feet
in length with a girth of 5 or 6 feet. The total height may be 40
feet. It is rather slow growing and though the crown is fairly dense,
is essentially light-demanding and not much of a soil-improving
species. It can be seen reproducing itself from root-suckers and very
rarely from seed, since the latter is destroyed by fire. The crown is
cylindrical and regular and the limbs ascend vertically.
=The Bark= is very conspicuous by its light grey, almost silvery,
colour. It is regularly fissured and the scales are of equal size and
soft and thick. The base of the stem is often swollen and the bark
charred by repeated firing. The slash is bright crimson and shows a
layer formation.
=The Wood= is a red-brown colour, flecked with black and dark brown
of a most distinctive pattern, rather open grained, scented, hard and
weighs 50 lbs. a cubic foot. It carpenters well and polishes. The pores
are small and open, scattered rather thinly along and between the rays
which are long and evenly spaced and straight. A useful and ornamental
wood if large sizes could be obtained.
=The Leaves= are pinnate, about 1 foot long with 4 or 5 pairs of
leaflets which have wavy edges so that the leaf resembles that of the
oak. The leaflets may be opposite or not and a terminal leaflet is not
always in evidence. In colour the leaf is dark and shiny on the upper
surface and soft and grey with rough venation beneath. They are in a
rosette-like formation like the mahoganies.
=The Flowers= are in panicles in the axils of the end leaves and are
white and sweet-scented. Each is about ¼ inch across, with 5 petals, a
knobbed pistil and 10 stamens whose filaments are united and surround
the pistil. They appear in February.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account