THE PALAEOTROPICS 171 



The Abyssinian highlands have but two gymnospermous u> 

 a juniper (Juniperus procera), which is abundant in Borne localitii 

 and becomes a large tree, furnishing valuable timber; the second, 

 Podocarpus gracMor, a member of the Yew family, represents 

 genus characteristic of South Africa and others regions of the 

 southern hemisphere. 1 



Eastward is the abrupt descent to the shores of the Red Sea. 

 At the higher elevations, the temperate, well watered regions have 

 an abundant vegetation; but as the descent is made to the in- 

 tensety hot arid Red Sea shores, the plants assume more and more 

 the xerophytic character common to so much of the tropical 

 African flora. Cactus-like Euphorbias, Aloes, thorny Acacias, ju- 

 jube (Zizyphus), together with various bunch-grasses and thorny 

 shrubs, are the principal features. 



In places along the coast are mangrove swamps and saline 

 flats, where salt-bushes and other salt-resistant plants grow, 

 while on the coral rock are succulents of various kinds and the 

 whole vegetation proclaims the intense heat and aridity of this 

 inhospitable region. 



Southward from the equator to the Tropic of Capricorn, except 

 for the Congo basin, the general type of country is very uniform, 

 a plateau with moderate or scanty rainfall, and much barren 

 soil. 



The predominant type of vegetation is the savanna, the amount 

 of tree growth depending much on soil and moisture. This region 

 is subject to a more or less pronounced dry season, during which 

 many trees and shrubs are either quite leafless or with a few dry 

 leaves clinging to the bare branches. Such a savanna country in 

 the dry season presents quite as dreary a picture as the bare winter 

 forests of northern climes. 



This savanna, " bosch-veldt " in the vernacular, may be seen 

 well developed in the vicinity of the Victoria Falls of the Zamfo 



In 1905, the writer visited South Africa with the British Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science, and in September made the 

 trip from Bulawayo, in Rhodesia, to the Falls. 



Bulawayo lies in the Matabele plateau between 4,000 and 5,000 

 feet elevation, and the climate is much liko that of northern 

 Mexico. About Bulawayo Moxican plants aiv said to l>r very much 



1 For details of the Abyssinian Flora, see Eimlrr, loc. cit.. pp. B4-127. 



