200 HELENA FORBES 



Again we wend our wa^' uphill, this time with hedges 

 of Carissa grandiflora on either side. Mikania natalensis 

 is creeping all over the hedges and besides the creeping 

 Vigna luteola, Crotalaria capensis and Lasiosiphon 

 iintlujlloldcs are tlie only flowering plants. The ground 

 is really too hard and rocky to sustain many plants. 



The rest of the way is through cultivated ground and 

 an occasional specimen of B ideas jyilosa or Siegesheckia 

 (jririitalis — both noxious weeds — are all to be found. 



The next part of interest is a valley situated about 

 midway between the Umhlatuzana river and the Umbilo. 

 A small stream runs along the foot of the valley, bounded 

 on either side by fairly steep rocky banks. There is 

 scarcely any undergrowth but on each side there are 

 shrubs and trees. Fsychotria capensis, Acokanthera 

 spcctahilis, JRcnulia riidis, Clcrodendron glahrum, Calo- 

 dendron capense^ Paveffa ohovata, Pavetta lanceolata, 

 Tccomaria capensis, Turraea jlorihiinda, Turraea ohtusi- 

 folia, Ochna a}-})orca, Ehretia hottentotica, Halleria 

 lucida and Buichellia capensis are met with, while every 

 here and there are large clumps of the tall graceful 

 Phoeni.r reclinata. 



The only ferns found along this stream are Poll/ pod iutn 

 pJifjtnatodes, Pellaea hastata, Pellaea calonielanos and 

 the tiny moss Funaria calvescens is often to be seen on 

 the rocks. 



Further back where the ground gently slopes up, it is 

 moist and the grass Dactyloctenium aegijptiacum, grows 

 soft and luxuriantly. Here one finds Ranunculus pin- 

 natus, Cycnium raccniosuni, Lohelia coronopifolia, 

 Eriosperniuni natalense, Geranium ornithopodum, which 

 flourish gaily, the delicate pinks, blues and whites blend- 

 ing harmoniously with the bright yellow of the Ranun- 

 culus and the fresh green of the foliage and the grass. 

 Often nestling in the bank among the grass and other 

 small plants are specimens of Thunhergia atriplicifolia, 

 conimonly called ^^ Wild Primrose," their glossy cream 



