164 



OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



October, when the writer made this trip, being the dry season, 

 they were mostly bare with only a few evergreen species like some 

 of the figs. 



The most remarkable tree of this region, but wide-spread in 

 central Africa, is the Baobab (Adansonia digitata). These trees, 

 with their huge ungainly trunks, and wide-spread naked limbs were 

 much the most conspicuous trees of this east coast. The leaves 





Fig. 50. — Coast, tropical East Africa. Coconut palms, baobab. 



of the baobab are somewhat like those of the horse-chestnut, and 

 the flowers, and later the big fruits, hang vertically from long slen- 

 der stalks. 



The mangrove formations are relatively limited in extent, and 

 not comparable with the immense coastal swamps of West Africa. 

 They are also inferior in the size of the trees. The eastern man- 

 grove, Rhizophora mucronata, is a much smaller tree than R. 

 Triangle of the west coast. 



From the excessively wet coastal districts of equatorial West 

 Africa, there is a rapid falling off in precipitation both north and 



