The Wood is a rich red-brown, more red than brown. The sapwood is grey. In transverse section the rings show as darker bands of varied width and the colour is darker in this section. The pores are numerous, in festoons of various lengths, or single, and a few nests, the whole densely and evenly distributed and the soft tissue plainly visible to the unaided eye as waves and specks in the dark hard tissue. The rays are straight, unevenly spaced, some being only the width of a ray apart, others far apart, some visible to the naked eye. The vertical section shows bands of colour and long dark pores. The wood is very hard, difficult to saw and picks up in bands under the plane, but the finished surface is smooth and will take a high polish. The weight is 60 lbs. a cubic foot.
The Leaves are bipinnate, 10 inches long, with 2-5 pairs of opposite or sub-opposite pinnae bearing 8-16 alternate leaflets, broad oval, flat tipped, pale blue-green, on light brown stalks, each ¾ inch long and ½ inch broad. They spring from the ends of erect twigs and lie in the horizontal plane. The leaflets are set apart and do not touch or overlap.
The Flowers, which appear in March, are in spikes, 2-3 inches long, crowded with white, scented flowers. Each flower has five small white petals with acute tips, ten white stamens with yellow anthers and a white pistil. They are not very conspicuous as they are partly hidden amongst the foliage.
The Fruits are large four-angled pods, the suture angle rounded. They are 4 inches long and 1½ inches broad, brown, pendulous on a 3 inch long stalk. They contain 6-10 seeds, roughly four-angled, pointed at one end. These lie across the length of the pod and ripen about December. They are ¾ inch long.
ANDIRA INERMIS H. B. K.—Gwaska, Madobia. LEGUMINOSAE.
A large tree occurring near streams in Bauchi, Sokoto and Zaria provinces. It is also found in the forests where the conditions are moist enough, and is not at all uncommon amongst the rocks on the Bauchi plateau. It rarely has any length of bole, the crown almost reaching the ground and the stem being bent or leaning. The crown is dense and the branches droop at the end. A height of 30-40 feet with a girth of 4-5 feet is usual. The foliage much resembles that of Khaya senegalensis, from a distance, but has a brilliant sheen.
The Bark is brown or grey-brown, roughish, with scales an inch or two in diameter fitting close together.
The Leaves are pinnate, 10-18 inches long with 5-7 pairs of opposite or nearly opposite leaflets and a terminal leaf. The smallest at the base are 1½ inches long and ¾ inch wide; the largest in the middle are 3½ inches long and 1½ inches wide. The edges are parallel and there is a sharp taper to a cleft tip. The basal lobes are uneven and the leaflets vary much in shape. The terminal leaflet is broader in proportion to its length than the lateral leaflets and the margins are not parallel. There are small stipules at the base of each stalk. The surface on both sides is shining and the new leaves are a most brilliant green. The mid-rib is below the upper surface but raised beneath.