282 THE FLORA OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA part hi 



stems, by sharp-spiked aloes, saw-leaved sansevieras, and a wide 

 expanse of thorny acacia scrub. But in spite of its unfamiliar 

 appearance, the wide range and monotony of this flora soon 

 render it tiresome. Here and there, it is true, there is a break ; 

 a belt of forest occurs beside a river ; a jungle of shrubs crowns 

 the summit of a ridge, or a tract of wood and turf covers a lava 

 sheet. But the contrast of these oases only intensifies the 

 dreary dulness of the surrounding plains, where day after day, 

 week after week, there is nothing to be seen but the same few 

 species. 



At length there comes another change, as striking as the 

 first, but more pleasing. As the land rises to a higher level, 

 where the rainfall is heavier and more evenly distributed 

 throughout the year, the spiny-leaved scrub is replaced by 

 shrubs with luxuriant green foliage, the tufts of grass of the 

 desert thicken to a fine rich turf, meadow flowers of European 

 genera cheer the traveller with home associations, and forests 

 of fine timber trees give him welcome shade from the tropical 

 sun. 



Throughout the whole country, however, the general aspect 

 of the vegetation, taken in mass, is remarkably similar to that 

 of temperate regions. Both the scrub of the plains and the 

 shrubs of the plateaux, when seen in mass from a little 

 distance, appears much like the bushes and pollards of our 

 woodlands. The grasses and the tussocks of rush and sedge 

 resemble those of England in form and habit, and in the 

 interior many, such as the reed-mace {TypJia angustifolia, L.) 

 and the common rush {/uncus cffusus, L.), are the familiar 

 British species. 



A superficial examination of the East African flora is 

 sufficient to show that it occurs in zones which, as a rule, run 

 parallel to the coast. These zones correspond with those based 

 on geological and geographical considerations (seep. 222), except 

 among the higher mountains, where the cold and rainfall have 

 induced a local, zonal arrangement on a somewhat different 

 plan. The three lower divisions, viz. the coast plain or 

 " temborari," the first inland plateau or Nyika — including the 

 primitive mountain axis as a subzone, — and the high grass 

 plateaux or Rangatan of the interior, are as well marked 

 botanically as geographically. The forest belt of the lower 



