FLORA OF THE TRANSVAAL AND SWAZILAND.. 549 



Androstachys sub pelt ata is a small tree with straight stem 

 ami very hard wood, which is said to he termite-proof; the 

 soundness and apparent age of logs and stumps of trees lying in 

 the forest suggest that this opinion may he correct. The tree is 

 gregarious, forming almost pure thickets in kloofs and along the 

 ephemeral streams which course down the eastern face of the 

 Lebombo range of mountains, chiefly on the Portuguese side of 

 the border. My own specimens were collected on the road to 

 Mailiana railway station, and just at the foot of the mountain. I 

 have already included it (under JVeihca) in the list of Transvaal 

 and Swaziland plants, on the strength of information that it 

 occurs on the Swaziland side of the border, in kloofs where the 

 larger rivers cut through the mountain range on their way to the 

 sea. But it is not characteristic of the western face of the 

 Lebombo, if it occurs there at all, which I doubt. The occur- 

 rence of this tree so far south is interesting, though not 

 surprising. 



It is known to the Swazis as " ubu-koomkoo," and is valued 

 for its hard, straight wood. A resident of Swaziland has 

 acquired a concession to cut the timber over many miles of 

 Portuguese territory, and proposes to send the poles and smaller 

 pieces to the Transvaal for fencing material, for which it appears 

 to be admirably suited. 



Air. Sim states that he was informed separately by English, 

 Dutch, Kaffirs and Swazis on the Lebombo that bees nesting in 

 this tree make poisonous honey. I have heard that honey made 

 from the nectar of the common tree Euphorbia of the Waterberg 

 District is also poisonous. 



He further notes that specimens were sent from Mozam- 

 bique in connection with an enquiry as to its suitability for rail- 

 way sleepers. 'Sir. Sim " saw no outwardly damaged trees," 

 though he saw all ages, " fine, clean, straight stems in every case; 

 but I was informed that the very large trees are usually hollow. 

 . . . Bark grey', fissured both ways, red under the cortex, 

 thin." 



♦Antirrhinum Orontium Linn, var. grandiflorum Chav. 

 (Scrophulariaceae). — Native of South Europe and Asia Minor, 

 naturalised in fields of grain and forage at the Government Ex- 

 periment Farm, Potchefstroom, and the Government Stud Farm, 

 Standerton, as early as 1908. 



*Barleria Irritans Nees ( Acanthacese). — Cawood's Hope, 

 near Christiana, March, 1912, Burtt-Davy, 12930. This plant 

 was plentiful on an isolated patch a few acres in extent not far 

 from the \ aal River, which produced a peculiar plant-society 

 quite different from that of the rest of the region. This plant- 

 society included a species of Mesembrianthemum; two species of 

 Eragrostis (one of which, E. bergiana Trin, is also new to the 

 Transvaal), and Dimorphotheca Zeyheri, in addition to some 

 species generally met with in the region, such as Gasania longi- 

 folic and Ipomcea angustisecta. Barleria irritans does not appear 



