The Flowers appear from October to November and are in large, loose panicles, some 12 inches long. Each is about ⅜ inch in diameter with a small cup-shaped calyx, 6 yellowish petals, 12 stamens, the lower half of the filaments being covered with hairs, and a short blunt pistil on a 6-part ovary. The flowers are scented.
The Fruits are formed by the growth of the several carpels, one or two of which generally crowd out the rest and grow at their expense. Rarely more than two reach maturity and occupy their respective positions on the stalk with their angular side facing the centre. Each is ¾ inch long and half as wide, a flattened or angled oval, with a brown or blackish wrinkled or lined skin, a hard shell and white kernel with light brown coat. Only a small proportion, as a rule, reach maturity, and these are very persistent on the tree, falling with the first rains 3 or 4 months later.
Uses.—The wood is used for all purposes that Bombax buonopozense is, namely basins, stools and cattle troughs, and occasionally drums.
HYMENOCARDIA ACIDA Tul.—Jan Yaro, Jan iche. EUPHORBIACEAE.
A small, erect tree up to 25 feet in height and 2 feet in girth. It is very widely distributed from quite near the coast up to 12° N. As most commonly seen, in open forest, it is not above 15 feet, erect, with ascending, crooked branches and a close, compact little crown. In this form it occurs in great quantities in secondary growth and is very familiar with its pale reddish stem. Older trees may have an 8 feet bole with a compact rounded crown. The male and female are on different trees (dioecious), both very readily distinguished, the first by its red catkins, the second by its red, heart-shaped, double-seeded, winged fruit. The male is often called “taramniya” by the native, owing to the resemblance of its flower-spikes to those of Combretum species.
The Bark is a light reddish or orange colour, sometimes almost white, with a dusty covering up to the extremities of the twigs. Here and there on older trees are a few scattered grey scales. The slash is a dull pink with a thin green edge.
The Wood is pinkish, hard, 55 lbs. per cubic foot, splits in seasoning, planes well with the grain, coarsely against it, exhibiting a bright sheen in cross section, the rings well marked fine dark lines, the pores very small and evenly scattered along the extremely fine rays in chains. The wood darkens considerably on exposure, being almost orange in transverse section.
The Leaves are some 3-4 inches long and 1-1½ broad, rounded or narrow at the base, bluntly pointed at the tip, which is variable, with ½ inch stalks. The mid-rib is prominent beneath. The leaf has a tendency to fold up along the mid-rib, especially towards the tip which is often recurved. The colour is at first a most delicate green, conspicuous from a distance but the leaf turns dark, toughens and loses the few hairs it had when young. They are arranged spirally round the twigs and stand erect.