356 THROUGH ANGOLA 



There are mimosas ; Munhampalas with long 

 thorns ; a very thorny acacia, Acacia reficiens 

 (Mugondo), the " cat's claw " of the Portuguese, 

 forming curious copses running in a north and 

 south direction and flourishing especially on the 

 Montes Negro ; and among others A. pennata 

 (Muanu), A. albida, and Euphorbia Candelabrum. 

 Along the motor road to Lubango and the plateau 

 one passed a varied flora, ferns of many kinds 

 nestling by the waterfalls with the monster 

 baobabs near by, ugly euphorbias (E. Candel- 

 abrum) and twisted Bauhinia reticulata (Mulolo), 

 and the sweet-scented jasmine (Landolphia parti- 

 folia) (Mahungo), creeping up the great Mulembas 

 (fig trees). As one climbed higher, the baobab 

 and Mutiati disappeared, and Phoenix palms, San- 

 sevierias, and fibre-giving Liliacese took their 

 place. At last the plateau is reached, and at the 

 edge of these wind-swept heights the vegetation is 

 more stunted than in the valleys we have climbed. 

 THE SOUTH PLATEAU : HUILLA DISTRICT. 

 Marquardsen, who gives little detail, describes the 

 vegetation of the Huilla plateaux from the Chellas 

 to the Cuando River, its eastern border, as a tree 

 steppe where the somewhat stunted forests en- 

 close or alternate with grass lands and savannah, 

 while near the rivers and lagoons grows a denser 

 and richer flora. In the north of this region and 

 as far south as an imaginary line drawn from 

 Humpata to the junction of the Coluhi and 

 Cunene, and from here eastwards to the Coando, 

 the dominant forest tree is the Berlinia Baumii, 

 which forms entire forests mixed with Burkea 



