74 ACCOUNT OF 



oldest inhabitants of our planet. I think I see a small plant 

 here of the latter, which I must point out to my little party, 

 as it is one of the most interesting of the tropical trees. 



ESTHER. 



Is that the same as the Monkey Bread tree? 



MRS. F. 



Yes. It is also called the Ethiopian Sour Gourd:* its 

 botanical name is Mansonia digitata. 



ESTHER. 



Where is it a native of? 



MRS. F. 



The natural territory of the Baobab is that part of Western 

 Africa which lies between the Senegal and the Gambia; and 

 it is to the verdant appearance given by these trees that Cape 

 Yerd owes its name. The tree belongs to the natural order 

 of Malvaceae (or the Mallow tribe). Its flowers are about 4 

 inches long and 6 in diameter. Being of a brilliant white, 

 and pendent from long stalks, they form a beautiful contrast 

 to the dark green of the leaves. They close at night; and it 

 is the custom of the Africans to assemble round the Baobab 

 at the approach of day, to watch the opening of its flowers, 

 greeting them with the salutation of " Good day, beautiful 

 lady!" The leaves, as the specific name implies, are digitate 

 or finger-shaped, and are divided into five lobes: when young, 

 they are employed by the natives to flavor their kouskous, and 

 for many other culinary purposes. This is one of the few Af- 

 rican trees (if not the only one) which loses all its leaves at 

 the approach of the rainy season, when its long, bare, rude, 

 irregular, hoary branches have a most grotesque effect, tow- 

 ering above all the other trees in the forest, the fruit still 

 pendent from it, in long, twisted stalks, varying from 1 to 2 

 feet in length. Its bark is of a whitish hue. The fruit is 

 about 18 inches in circumference, in the form of a double 



* Kouka in the Soudan, according to Major Denham. 



