for the time and effort that he has put into the task. With his very wide knowledge 

 and long experience of the East African flora, he has unrivalled qualifications for 

 such work. 



I am also most grateful to Mr. G. Jackson, Ecologist to the Nyasaland Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, for the cover design and for the excellent line drawings which 

 he has so kindly contributed. 



Finally, I should like to thank Mr Edson Chidzalo of the Kota Kota District, who 

 so ably and untiringly interpreted for me and without whom I should have been 

 unable to collect much of the information that follows. 



Some explanation is needed of the word " side-dish " which appears so often 

 in the text. Many of the edible plants, leaves in particular, are cooked with abundant 

 salt and other flavourings to form a dish called ndiwo in the south and dende in the 

 north of the country. This is eaten in small quantities together with large amounts 

 of rather tasteless porridge known as nsima. Often, owing to the communal eating 

 habits of the people, there is a choice of several dishes of ndiwo at any one meal. 

 The customary translation for ndiwo is "relish " but the term "side-dish", often 

 used to describe somewhat similar cooked dishes in Eastern countries, seems a better 

 word to use. 



A list of this nature is certain to be incomplete and to contain inaccuracies 

 and is bound to need revising sooner or later. To assist in this work, any addi- 

 tions or corrections will be welcomed and should be sent to me c/o The Director of 

 Agriculture, Zomba, Nyasaland. 



Karonga, Nyasaland, January 28th, 1954 J. Williamson 



