ON THE COMPOSITE FLORA OF AFRICA. 305 
A Contribution to the Composite Flora of Africa. 
By Spencer Le M. Moore, B.Sc., F.LS. 
Read 3rd April, 1902. 
p 
(Puate 8.) 
TuE plants forming the subject of this memoir are preserved in 
the British Museum herbarium. Of recent years that herbarium 
has been largely increased, no small factor in this increase re- 
lating to specimens brought home from North-eastern Tropical 
Africa by travellers in that part of the Dark Continent. One 
well-known resident, the Rev. W. E. Taylor, holds an honourable 
position as a contributor to the National Collection, this gentle- 
man having, during the eighties of last century, forwarded many 
rare plants, chiefly from Mombasa and tbe country inland of that 
town. Among the travellers, the largest collection is Mr. Scott 
Elliot’s, made in the course of his expedition to Mount Ruwen- 
zori and thence south to Nyassaland. Mr. F.J. Jackson secured 
many valuable specimens during his journey through what is 
now British East Africa, as did Professor J. W. Gregory while 
making his well-known and adventurous visit to Mount Kenia. 
In 1899 Professor H. J. Mackinder also went to this mountain; 
and though his bundle was a small one, it was by no means without 
interest, and, indeed, included a few novelties. To these must 
be added the names of Dr. S. L. Hinde, who sent home plants 
from Machakos, and Lord Delamere, whose collection from the 
Lake Rudolf country is very valuable. The Museum also 
possesses a number of rare specimens from Somaliland, presented 
to the Trustees by Mrs. Lort Phillips and Dr. Donaldson Smith. 
Irrespective of Scott Elliot’s plants, the Composite Flora of 
Southern Tropical Africa is well represented at the Museum by 
inter alia the Nyassaland plants of the late Mr. John Buchanan 
(these including a valuable parcel sent in 1895), of Mr. A. Whyte, 
of Rev. Dr. Stewart, and of Mr. Richard Crawshay : and Dr. Rand 
has botanized with excellent result in Rhodesia. Lastly, from 
the South-western Tropics the Museum has Mr. J. G. Een’s 
remarkable collection, which it acquired in 1879. So little was 
known of this part of Africa at the time of Mr. Een’s visit, that 
his collection, one may say without exaggeration, contained an 
unusually high percentage of what were then novelties, and even 
now, in spite of the large amount of work smce done in Germany 
