Karura Forest #16: In the Realm of Giants
The magnetic micro is hidden in the Karura River valley home to some huge trees - amongst the largest in the Nairobi area. These include the two species described below.
To reach the cache: a) from the Karura Forest #5: Waterfalls cache head down to the waterfalls and follow the path to the east downstream or b) from the Mau Mau caves, follow the path west (upstream).
For background information on Karura Forest including access, fees, features, a detailed trail map and useful links, see GC4PD3V Karura Forest #1: Intro, Info & Entry
Note: the cache is hidden on one of the most popular trails in the forest, so please watch out for muggles when retrieving and replacing it . . .
For information on one of the giants in this river valley, Newtonia buchananii (East African or Forest Newtonia), see GC5PNYP Karura Forest #29 Cape Chestnut.
The other giant, Manilkara Discolor (Forest Milkberry, Mgambo in Swahili), one of at least 79 species of Manilkara trees (Wikipedia lists 134) is a medium-large tree up to 40m tall, shallowly fluted at the base and significant or even dominant within its ecosystem (see photo right). It is found below 2,100m in lowland and upland dry evergreen forest and well-drained sites in upland rainforest forest in coastal Tanzania, the Eastern Arc Mountains (see gallery for map), eastern Africa, south to Natal in South Africa and south-eastern Africa.
It has dark grey/black/brown, thick, rough bark fissured in squares and leaves crowded at the ends of branches, obovate-oblong, dark green above, covered in silvery white velvety hairs below ('discolor' means not of the same colour, referring to the leaf colours above and below).
Pollinated by bees, the flowers are creamy-yellow in small axillary clusters and berry fruit green turning yellow, juicy & tasty when ripe. 
The fruit are important for various frugivores, especially birds and bats. The largest specimen in the forest is the huge one at the entrance of the Mau Mau caves which must be close to the maximum size.
Uses: ripe fruits are fleshy, delicious and eaten raw as a snack, especially by children, herdsmen and forest workers. The wood is hard, valuable and used for poles, fuel-wood, tool handles, carvings and spoons. The tree makes a good ornamental and shade tree and provide bee forage. See here for comprehensive info on this tree.