Uses.—The timber is made into planks, mortars, canoes and cattle-troughs. The resin is burnt in houses as a fumigating incense.
In times of extreme famine, the young leaves are appreciated as a vegetable, being eaten with the addition of salt and pepper.
PARINARIUM CURATELLAEFOLIUM Planch.—Rura, Gwanja kusa. ROSACEAE.
A small and very common tree averaging 15-20 feet high with a girth of 1-2 feet. It has no form or special characteristic of growth, being similar to the many other species with which it occurs in open savannah forests. Its only importance lies in its occurrence in large quantities over considerable areas. It is readily distinguished from other species by its flowers and fruits, which latter may be seen for several months in the year.
The Bark is very dark, sometimes almost black, with small, prominent, corky scales up to 1 inch square. The slash is a dull, dark red.
The Wood is light brown, with a slight orange tinge. In transverse section the rings show as slightly darker lines, the pores are small, oval, with their length radial, single, not numerous, and connected by continuous waved concentric lines of soft tissue. The rays are extremely fine and very close together, quite invisible to the naked eye. In vertical section the pores are open and slightly darker, the grain close. It is a soft, sound wood, easily worked, planing with a dull, smooth finish, not picking up much. The weight is 48 lbs. a cubic foot.
The Leaves are about 5 inches long and 2½ inches broad. They are alternate, pale green and smooth above and greyish beneath.
The Flowers are in long, dense or open, terminal panicles, a number together. They are greenish in colour, the whole panicle covered with a light pubescence. Each flower consists of a grey-green, 5-pointed calyx, 5 minute white petals and 10 stamens, some with pink anthers. They appear about December or January, and are conspicuous by their numbers on the leafless tree.