The Bark is dark grey or almost black on the bole. The scales are large, varying from rectangular to square and in old trees form long ridges and fissures in waved pattern. That on the branches is light grey and the long vertical scales are sharply cut transversely. The slash is a dark red brown.
The Wood is similar to that of T. glaucescens, light oak-brown with an uneven grain, difficult to carpenter and weighing some 60 lbs. a cubic foot.
The Leaves are a foot or more in length, larger on smaller trees, obovate with tapering base, broad blade, sharp tip, wavy margins and very short thick stalk. They are pale green, almost the same colour on both surfaces, smooth above and below, the heavy mid-rib almost white and prominent on both sides, as are the very pronounced nerves. They grow in marked rosettes which face the light all round the tree and thus form quite good, though superficial, shade. Their texture is tough.
The Flowers are found from February to May, in long spikes in the axils of the new leaves. They are white with the usual 5-pointed calyx, 10 stamens and short pistil. The calyx is smooth but there is a slight pubescence on the inflorescence as a whole.
The Fruits are the usual winged seed, a large and heavy crop of which is borne on the lower part of the spike, the rest seedless. The seed is 4-5 inches long and 1-1½ inches broad, pale green at first and smooth, turning a rich purple with a bloom, the wing slightly spiral twisted, the seed itself tapering acutely at both ends. It dries brown.
Uses.—The roots are used for sticks and bows.
TRICHILIA EMETICA Vahl.—Gwanja kusa, Jan saye. MELIACEAE.
A medium-sized tree occurring up to 11° N. in Tree or better-class Bush savannah. In Zaria and Bauchi provinces gregarious clumps are not uncommon. A height of 30 feet with a girth of 3-4 feet is an average well-grown tree. The distinguishing features are the large, soft pinnate leaves, green flowers and crimson capsular fruits, the last very conspicuous. It is a low-branched, spreading tree, giving good shade and apparently grows very slowly.