PREFACE. 



The more original portion of the ' Flora of Tropical Africa ' is based 

 upon the very extensive collections that have accumulated at Kew dur- 

 ing the last ten years, sent home by the Botanists and Collectors 

 attached to various scientific and exploratory journeys in Tropical Africa. 

 The principal of these collections are enumerated below. 



From our very imperfect knowledge of the vegetation of many parts 

 of the Continent, even of those which have been long more or less in 

 European occupation, and from our complete ignorance of that of the 

 immensely larger area not yet opened up, the present work must not 

 be regarded as presenting anything like a complete account of Tropical 

 African Botany. It serves rather as a vehicle for the publication of 

 the important botanical results of much recent expenditure of life, toil, 

 and money, which would otherwise have been lost to science or antici- 

 pated by other nations, and (embracing references to all hitherto pub- 

 lished African species) as a repertory which it is hoped may be useful 

 to Botanists, no less than to future explorers and residents in Africa 

 interested in the natural productions and economic products of the 

 country. 



The number of species here described being doubtless much smaller 

 than the vast area of intertropical Africa must contain, it has been ne- 

 cessary to go into greater detail, especially in the descriptions of new 

 species, than would have been the case had the Continent been more 

 thoroughly explored, and its botanical novelties more nearly exhausted. 

 In a well-explored area the species may be determined by a few selected 

 diagnostic characters ; but when few are known out of many presumed 



