RANDIA NILOTICA Stapf.—Chibra. RUBIACEAE.
A shrub or small tree, readily recognised by its stiff, spiny stems densely covered with the small leaves. The stems spring from the base and are either erect or finally bent out and down. Occasionally it forms a dense shrub of large size, but usually is light and open. It occurs as far north as 13°, and is common in open high savannah forests.
The Bark is light grey, sometimes almost white, with black scales scattered about in patches.
The Thorns are above the leaves and are short, sharp, very strong and woody, with bark at the base and smooth tips.
The Leaves are about 1½ inches long, narrow at the base, broad at the tip, and smooth; the veins slightly raised on both surfaces. They are borne in rosettes at the ends of very short twigs, above which is a thorn, and densely cover the branches.
The Flowers spring from amongst the rosettes of leaves and may be so numerous as to cover the twigs with a mass of bloom. They are white, changing to yellow and are slightly scented. Each has a short-stalked tubular calyx with 5 unequal-sized sepals with cleft tips, a tubular corolla about ¾ inch in diameter with 5 petals, bent back, 5 stamens in the angles between the petals, consisting of dark brown anthers only, and a yellow, protruding, clubbed pistil. The flowers appear in May.
The Fruits, ripening in June, and often persisting for several months, are oval, 5-8 inches long and ½ inch in diameter, brown, shiny, hard, with thin “skin” vertically ribbed and cellular veined. It is 2-celled and the partition is vertical, each cell containing a number of small black wedge-shaped seeds packed close and cemented together. The fruit falls entire and rots.
RAPHIA VINIFERA P. Beauv.—Tukuruwa. PALMACEAE.