FLORA OF 'A HE MALVERN DISTRICT 203 



The road to tlie T'mbilo is very hilly and it is not at all 

 pictnresqne. Indians have cut down — in most parts — 

 all the natural growth and planted the ground with pine- 

 apples and bananas. The soil is too dry and stony to be 

 very fertile and the indiscriminate destruction of trees 

 and shrubs has only rendered the ground more dry and 

 unfertile. 



On the way is a hillside which is left free from culti- 

 vation and is not exposed to the sharp winds. There are 

 only a few stunted Acacia uatalitia trees but during the 

 flowering seasons there are very many different kinds oi: 

 flowers. In October Cycnhnn adoncnse is everywhere 

 while other plants found there are Yernonia Kraussli, 

 Oc'unuin ohoratum, Hypoxis rigidula, Selago corymtosa, 

 Bopiisia scahra, Cyanotis nodiflora, ^cilla satunita, 

 AscJepias flexuosa, Drimiopsis maculata, Tephrosia 

 elongata, Rapliionacme divaricata^ Cynoglossum micran- 

 tJuuu, Yernonia dregeana, Senecio speciosus, Aster 

 asper, while the larger plants were Asparagus africanus 

 in full bloom during October, with two large species of 

 Yernonia, Yernonia liirsufa and Yernonia natalensis. 



The roads to the Umbilo like those to the Umhlatuzana 

 are merely Native tracks. Alongside grow many hardy 

 types of plants. Dico)na anoinala is very common as is 

 also Gomphrena glohosa and AUernanthera Acltyrantha. 

 Other specimens collected along the roadside or between 

 the bananas were Crotalaria capensis, Pkylhnithiis Meyer- 

 ianits, Corchoriis trilocnlaris, Melhania didynia, Alepidea 

 Jongi folia, Lochnera rosea, Hihiscns pedunciilatus, 

 lonidimn natalense^ Chenopodim amhrosiodes, Yigna 

 vexillata, Eroisema parvifolium, Aster asper, Ceratophyl- 

 lum demersiim (growing in pools), Ilelichrysiim griseum, 

 Lotononis dichloides, Stachys nigricans, Justica pule- 

 gioides, Calophanes Burkeii, Desmodium liirtum, Aristea 

 ancepSy Aristea EcklonA, Sida capensis, Ahutilon, sp., and 

 creeping along the ground among the grass and under- 



