Chap. Ill] MOUNTAIN REGIONS IN THE TROPICS 737 



enough together to interrupt the view of distant objects ; this interruption takes place 

 only because a second and lower tier of woody plants is developed beneath them. 



'This second tier consists partly of young individuals of the taller trees, showing 

 in marked contrast with their later appearance a rod-like growth resembling 

 that of raspberry canes, and partly of certain shade-bearing species, that attain 

 heights of 5-10 meters and send out horizontal side-shoots either from the base or 

 after forming a stem as tall as a man and as thick as his arm. Galiniera cafteoides, 

 which was taken by Biilow for a wild species of coffee, Grumilea platyphylla and 

 G. exserta, Urophyllum Holstii, Lasianthus kilimandscharicus, Ilalleria abyssinica, 

 Clausena inaequalis, Olinia and Peddiea Volkensii, Cassine aethiopica, are examples. 

 Striking constituents of this second tier are plants the stems of which are not 

 normally lignified, for instance Dracaena usambarensis, characterized by its dicho- 

 tomous growth and tufted leaves, also the tree-ferns, Cyathea Manniana and Aspidium 

 kiboschense. These are. however, confined to the west, from Kilema onwards, 

 and also more on the banks of the water-courses and moister places in general. 



'A third tier, one to three meters high, is formed by herbaceous perennials, Piper 

 capense, Euphorbia Engleri, Pycnostachys Volkensii and P. Meyeri, Fleurya monti- 

 cola, Claoxylon Volkensii, Pavonia kilimandscharica and P. Schimperiana. The 

 tallest of all, if not particularly abundant, is Lobelia Volkensii, a plant like a small 

 palm, with a spike-like inflorescence, up to two meters in length, rising from the 

 terminal rosette of pendulous leaves which are as long as one's arm. Finally, the 

 ground is covered with a dense green carpet of Selaginella, ferns, species of Carex, 

 grasses, and other herbs. Of herbaceous species with beautiful flowers may be 

 mentioned, in particular, a whole series of Balsamineae, Acanthaceae, and Labiatae 

 of the most varied forms, a violet, the Viola abyssinica, also bulbous and tuberous 

 plants, such as Haemanthus eurysiphon and terrestrial orchids. 



'The characteristic feature of the forest, according to the preceding description, is 

 that it consists from the ground upwards of a compact mass of leaves which not only 

 prevent any view through it horizontally or vertically, but also almost completely 

 cover all axial parts, branches and stems. We see leaves below us, around us, above 

 us, and wherever we look, whereas in all forests at home, besides the green colour of 

 the foliage, the brown, grey, and black tints of the trunks and branches play their 

 part. All the space occupied by the forest is filled by a mass of interlacing branches, 

 which, year in and year out, are uniformly foliaged. In addition to this is a further 

 peculiarity, to which all travellers agree in giving prominence, and which may thus 

 count as the most striking feature. I refer to the dense envelopment of nearly all 

 woody plants by cryptogamous epiphytes. We see them hanging down in draperies 

 meters in length, or resting at the extremities of the branches as spherical bird's-nest- 

 like balls as large as the human head, or clothing younger erect branches like dis- 

 tended stockings, covering thicker horizontal branches with a cushion-like mass, 

 which, to borrow a simile from Hoist, threatens to topple over on both sides. They 

 are mostly lichens, mosses, and Hymenophyllaceae, the first chiefly high up, where 

 sunlight reaches them, the others in the shade of the tree-crowns. Pallid and almost 

 white are the lichens, the floating streamers of Usnea barbata blown to and fro by 

 the wind, and round masses of Anaptychia leucomelaena : green, in all tints from the 

 darkest to the lightest, are the mosses, Pilotrichella imbricatula hanging down in skeins, 



SCHIMPER O B 



