194 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
25. Arboricultural Notes from Portuguese East Africa. 
(With Two Plates.) 
By J. A. ALEXANDER. 
Before starting upon a general description of this part of 
Africa and its sylvan landscape, it may be necessary to fix its 
geographical position. The whole territory to be described 
extends from the Zambesi river to Lourenco Marques, a distance 
along the coast-line of 633 miles. The first part is the territory 
of the Companhia De Mocambique—known as the Province of 
Manica and Sofala—which I am immediately connected with. 
The head station is Beira, built upon a sand-bank near the 
mouth of the Punge river, which drains most of the water- 
shed that the Beira Mashonaland railway passes through. 
Owing to its position, Beira is very healthy for an African 
coast town. It is 7570 miles from Southampton by usual steam- 
ship routes, and seven days’ railway travelling from Cape Town 
by mail train, over 2000 miles across South Africa. 
In this paper I shall only deal with the coast-line of a 20-mile 
belt in width, and the numerous islands that are situated on the 
coast, often near the mouths of the perennial rivers that fall into 
the Indian Ocean. 
The Province of Manica and Sofala extends from the Zambesi 
river to the 22nd degree line. Being low-lying ground, the high 
tidal wave passes over it for some miles inland, and up the 
rivers for 30 miles. The forest cover is chiefly mangrove 
bushes within the tide-line—consisting of Rhizophora mucronata, 
Rhizophora sp., Ceriops Candolliana, Bruguetra cylindrica, and 
B. gymnorhiza. ‘The last is known as the red mangrove. It is 
a very heavy, hard wood, resisting the attacks of the white 
ants (Zermites), and it is much sought after for house-building 
purposes. It is peculiar in its habit, not being often found with 
other trees, and always in gregarious patches. It often grows to 
a good size and height, and is found farther inland than any 
other tree of this genus. When the Portuguese first came to 
this coast, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, they used 
this tree for all their forts and buildings. No stone could be 
found, and they brought what they required from Portugal, no 
easy task, as it had to be carried round nearly three-fourths of 
