P^LOKA OF THE MALVERX DISTRICT 207 



areata. Tlie blossoms are a creamy white and have a 

 very powerful perfume. It is fairly common in the bush 

 and it is a \qv\ pretty sight to see twenty or thirty 

 sprays of flowers hanging from the branch of a tree. 



There are a great many noxious weeds which grow 

 freely all over the country side. [Some of these weeds 

 are very troublesome pests to the farmers, and as they 

 generally bear large quantities of seed, the only way to 

 eradicate them is to pull up and burn all the young 

 plants.] Entex australis, Bidens pilosa, Sida rhomhi- 

 folia. Siegesbeckia oricntalis and Argemone Mexicana 

 ochroleuca (Mexican Poppy) are really about the worst. 

 Cannabis sativa (Tnsangu) seems to have been spreading 

 very much during the last few years. Some natives cul- 

 tivate this plant and use the dried roots and leaves as 

 tobacco, the fumes being quite as harmful as those of the 

 Opium. Among the smaller plants are Eiiphorhia Jiirta 

 and EupJiorhia iuaequUatera, and they seem to be able 

 to withstand heat and drought, thriving well throughout 

 the whole year. Other noxious weeds are Xanthium 

 stnimariiim, X. spinosum, Trhimfetta effiisa and Datura 

 straJiionium. 



During the last two years Taraxacum officinale, com- 

 monly called the " Dandelion '', has spread enormously. 

 Before that one occasionally saw a plant or two generally 

 growing in moist sheltered places, but now it seems to 

 grow everywhere, especially in the lawns. The leaves are 

 said to be a cure for malarial fever. 



Comparatively few Xerophytic plants are to be found 

 in this district. A few HeUcJinjsum spp. have heath-like 

 leaves, as for example Heliehnjsum cymosum, while others 

 such as HeUehrijsun} acfrostophijlJum have leaves and 

 stems covered with a white woolly coat of hairs. Cras- 

 suta sarmentosa and Kalanehoe rot undi folia are two 

 other xerophytic plants, K. rotundifolia especially being 

 very common on the rocks near the rivers. Osteospermum 

 ononiliferum has also a very hairy covering over the leaves 



