VEGETATION 71 



base of each petal. One other characteristic plant may 

 here be noted, known to the natives as " E'tungulu " i 

 It grows in dense patches, throwing up straight green 

 stems as much as 8 feet high, furnished with alternating 

 leaves of very thin texture, with a smooth shiny surface, 

 bright green in colour, elongated, and with pointed tip^ 

 The flowers are borne on short stalks coming up separately 

 from the leaf stems ; they are in shape somewhat like 

 that of a pentstemon, in colour whitish or dull pink 

 according to the species. The fruits are pear shaped, 

 attached by their broad bases in a cluster, and are of a 

 very bright shiny red. If the tough skin is torn open 

 the interior is found to consist of a large number of 

 round black seeds embedded in a white pulp with delicious 

 acid taste ; hence these fruits are much esteemed by 

 the natives, and by monkeys. The fruit of the white 

 flowered species is poor compared to that from the red 

 flowers. 



To return to the forest belt. A characteristic feature 

 of its landward side is the abrupt maigin ; one suddenly 

 emerges from forest to open grass land as though the edge 

 had been cut by a landscape gardener. 



It is. possible that this edge owes its origin to former 

 systematic burning of the grass by natives, so that no 

 outlying, straggling fringes survived. Now that the 

 population is no longer there, however, the forest edge 

 seems in places to be gradually advancing over the grass, 

 the vanguard formed by rambling bushes of low growth. 

 The significance of this had not occurred to me until 

 Fiske pointed it out in 1914. 



On the smaller islets, if very rocky, the only trees are 

 figs, which seem especially to thrive close to the water, 

 and may sometimes be seen perched on a rock, which their 

 descending roots embrace on all sides. These doubtless 

 owe their origin to seeds dropped by some pigeon. 



^ Anonaceae. 



