13 



a useful timber employed for inside and outside work, for 

 shipbuilding, and for piles and jetties, as it lasts well in 

 sea-water. 



Other interesting trees are Laurier Cypre, Cordia 

 Gerascanthus, a fairly quick growing timber tree, the wood of 

 which is used for a variety of purposes including furniture 

 making ; Bois Cotlette, Citharexylon quadrangular e, which 

 yields a useful timber ; Bois Chandelle, Amyris balsamifera, 

 a small tree used for posts and for making flambeaux ; and 

 Bois D'Orme, Guazuma ulmifolia. 



Thevetia nerifolia, with glossy foliage and yellow flowers, 

 which yields the " lucky seeds " so much in request for wearing 

 as charms in the West Indies, is a plant of interest growing on 

 the dry cliffs. Also Bois Vinette, Erythroxylon ovatum, a 

 relation of the well-known Cocaine shrub, Erythroxylon Coca. 

 The leaves of Bois Vinette contain only a small percentage of 

 alkaloids compared with the amount yielded by the official 

 plant E. Coca. 



The Horse Tamarind, Leucaena glauca, a small tree 

 largely grown in the Eastern tropics as a shade tree for coffee 

 and other cultivations, for supplying mulch, and also for 

 firewood, is to be found on this slope. In the West Indies 

 owing to its persistence in and around cultivations, and the 

 great difficulty and expense in exterminating it, this tree is 

 generally regarded as an unmitigated pest. 



Interspersed throughout this area are the common 

 wayside flowering plant, Tecoma stans, which bears an 

 abundance of yellow flowers; and Acacia riparia, a showy 

 plant in the dry season, with its creamy white flowers. 



Amongst the unidentified plants are several kinds of 

 Mapou, Cordia spp., and Acoma Blanc, a fine tree, and 

 probably an undescribed species. 



Growing over and amongst the trees are numerous 

 creepers, the most showy of which is Bignonia Unguis-cati. 

 This creeper covers some of the large trees and makes a good 

 display at the commencement of the wet season with its 

 masses of large yellow flowers. The Baba-ou-le or Cap-la-hou, 

 Dioscorea alata, is another climber much in evidence. 

 Although an introduced yam a useful food plant it is now 



