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EASTERN ETHIOPIA 



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and poisonous latex in plants is supposed to be useful 

 by being obnoxious to their enemies, and serving by 

 its coagulability as an efficient covering to a wound 

 when the plant is injured. It is more probable that 

 it is a reserve store of nourishment to be drawn upon 

 in the dry season. There is a curious fascination about 

 these euphorbias. It is weird to see half a dozen of 



The leaf of a Willow (Salix) with two stipules. 



them growing near the edge of a cliff resembling a 

 row of candelabra standing along the choir stalls of an 

 English cathedral. In many instances the euphorbias 

 are overrun with creeping plants, especially those of the 

 convolvulus order ; when these are in flower the 

 resemblance to a candelabrum decorated for Easter 

 services is very striking. 



The spider-like euphorbia is a weird and curious 



