120 



A large tree 2-3 feet in diameter, 50-oO feet high. Bark grey, thick, pitted. WooJ 

 moderately heavy and hard, rather brittle when dry ; medullary rays moderately broad ; 

 pores small, irregularly distributed ; colour light brown ; suitable for railway sleepers. 



157. Celtis rhamni folia, Presl. 



Sylv. Cap,, p. 35. 



Dutch : Kamdeboo Stinkhout. 



Western Province, Knysna, Eastern Province, Natal. 



A large tree 2-3 feet in diameter, 50-60 feet high. Wood yellowish white ; used 

 for planks, yokes, and staves ; suitable for railway sleepers. 



Two other species of Celtis are found in the North Drakensberg forests* 



158. Trema guineensis. 



Sponia guineensis, Schumacher. 

 Pigeonwood. 



Coast forests ; abundant in old cane fields. 



A tree 1-2 feet in diameter, 20-30 feet high. Bark ashen, moderately thin, even. 

 Wood very light, soft, not strong, moderately elastic, satiny; annual rings broad, obscure; 

 medullary rays fine and close ; pores moderately large, not very numerous, regularly 

 distributed ; colour silvery white ; used for inside work, but bad to saw, and not durable 

 exposed to the weather. 



159. Trema orientalis. 



Sponia orientalis. 

 Kafir : um- Vanyazi. 



A small tree of the Coast forests. Wood moderately light and soft, compact ; 

 medullary rays moderately fine ; pores moderately small, distributed chiefly in short 

 radial groups ; colour light yellow tinged with red. 



160. Chsetachme Meyeri, Harvey. 



Kafir : um-Kovoti. 



Coast forests. A large thorny tree 2-3 feet in diameter, 40-50 feet high, densely 

 leafy. Bark grey-brown, moderately thick, even or slightly fissured, the surface pul- 

 verulent. Wood heavy, moderately hard, moderately strong and elastic, close grained y 

 compact ; medullary rays fine and close, intersected by close concentric bands of soft 

 tissue ; pores small, irregularly distributed ; colour citron yellow. 



161. Ficus Natal ensis. 



Urostigma JSatalense, Miquel. 

 Wild Fig. Kafir : um- Tombe. 



Drakensbeig and Coast forests. 



A tree 12-18 inches in diameter, 30-50 feet high, often growing parasitically 

 on other trees. Bark grey brown, thin, smooth, fibrous. Wood very light and soft, very 

 weak, elastic, porous, with alternate concentric layers of soft and firm tissue ; medullary 

 .rays fine and close ; pores moderately large and numerous, irregularly distributed ; colour 

 white or grey tinged with brown ; makes rough boards, but decays rapidly if exposed to 

 the weather. 



Grows readily from cuttings ; the fibres of the bark are used by Natives for making 

 rough ropes. 



Other species of Ficus are : ( Urostigma Thunbergii, Miquel) found from the Cape 

 Western Province to Natal, (Sycomorus hirsuta, Sonder) growing in the Coast region,, 

 and (Sycomorus Capensis, Miquel) found from Knysna to Natal ; but this genus has by 

 no means been worked out in Natal. 



