FLORA OF CUBANGO DISTRICT 361 



plants are common in the woods of this region, and 

 on higher ground are open forests of Mupandas. 



FLORA OF THE CUBANGO DISTRICT. In the 

 valley of the Cubango itself the vegetation is in 

 some places of tropical luxuriance. Thorn forests 

 are found south of Massaca near the Cubango, and 

 in the watersheds and valleys of this river, the 

 Cuito, Luiana, and Cuando ; being especially 

 dense near the last-named river. 



Brachystegias (Mupandas) and Berlinias alter- 

 nate with the thorn scrub in the hills between 

 the Cubango and its tributaries, giving place to 

 the tall and twisted Mucaratis in the valley of the 

 upper and middle Cuito. In the Cubango valley 

 besides the other trees are the Mulembas (Ficus) ; 

 the Nucibe, with its bulky trunk, reminding one of 

 a huge olive, but with a fat-yielding fruit like a 

 large red bean ; and a la roe tree, Vungo-Vungo, 

 used for making canoes. 



The vegetation of the country to the east of 

 the Cubango River presents a monotonous ap- 

 pearance, and only in the valley of the Cuchibe 

 and Ninda does it alter to a more tropical form ; 

 in the latter valley are woods of the scented Ocos. 



In the watersheds of the Cubango and Cuando 

 north of 17 latitude, belts of rubber plants, Ota- 

 lemba and Vivungo (Carpodinus chylorrhiza and C. 

 gracilis) and Landolphia Henriquesiana, are being 1 

 destroyed by natives. Many of the clearings are 

 carpeted with a great variety of grasses, while 

 occasional tree clumps rise like islands in the 

 glades. The banks of most rivers and lagoons are 

 covered with reeds sometimes so dense and 



