The following are Burchell's descriptions of the appear- 

 ance of the plant in its native rivers, extracted from his 

 'Travels in Southern Africa 1 (v. 1, p. 89): — " We soon after 

 crossed the Palmiet river, whose waters were of a brown 

 colour, resembling coffee, but clear and wholesome. The 

 Boers believe this brownness to be caused by the great quan- 

 tity of Palmiet that grows everywhere in these streams, but 

 I have observed them to be thus coloured before they reach 

 the foot of the mountains, and far above where the Palmiet 

 begins to grow." And again, p. 91, " Most of the rivers we 

 passed in this excursion are choked up with this plant. 

 Some notion of their appearance may be gathered by imagi- 

 ning a vast number of Pineapple plants, without fruit, so 

 thickly crowded together as to cover the sides and even the 

 middle of the stream, standing seldom higher than three to 

 four feet above the surface, but generally under water when 

 the river swells above its ordinary height : they have much 

 the growth of Dragon-trees, or of some Palms." Again, p. 

 139, t; The ford, which had rather the appearance of a cave, 

 led us through the tall, thick Palmite, with which the river 

 was in this part so choked up, that its waters seemed as if 

 struggling to find a passage between the stems. It would 

 be very unsafe, without great care, for a traveller to ford a 

 river of this kind ; for should he, by the force of the stream, 

 be earned into the Palmites, he might find the greatest diffi- 

 culty m extricating himself or his horse from amongst the 

 entangled branches."— J. D. H. 



1% 1. Whole plant -.—reduced. 2. Branch of panicle. 3. Leaf. 4. 

 I'icmer. 5. Ovary. 6. Transverse section of ovary. 7. Capsule -.—all 

 but 2 and 8 magnified. J * 



