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.
The Fruits, which ripen in February of the following year, are capsules about 4 inches long, shaped like a club and standing erect. They are brown in colour and split from the apex into five sections which curl back and release the seeds. These are packed, about six in each section, round a pith centre, the wings, 1¼ inches long, pointing downwards, one over the other. The split capsule remains some time on the tree after the seeds have fallen. The capsules are very few in number on a tree considering the enormous number of flowers which bloom, but are very conspicuous and a ready means of identification. The mahogany coloured seeds will blow 200 yards away.
Uses.—An infusion of the bark is used as a cure for digestive trouble. The timber is used for furnishings and is an excellent wood for all articles, owing to its being so easy to work.
