Trees. 27 



ranks with many only second in beauty to the 

 red Poinciana. Its foliage is similar, only a little 

 darker in colour, but the habit is more erect. It 

 blooms a month earlier, that is in May, and often 

 before the leaves are fully expanded. Propagated 

 by "" seed, but is difficult to transplant when estab- 

 lished, and will only flower in a sheltered position. 

 For this purpose in windy gardens a large evergreen 

 tree should be grown on the exposed side. 



Kigelia pinnata. The Sausage Tree of Nubia. 



A tall tree in Cairo, peculiar on account of its long 

 hanging fruits. It has coarse pinnate leaves, and 

 flowers which only open at night. 



Lagunaria Patersonii The Norfolk Island Oak. 

 A tall, pyramidical-shaped tree, with small leaves, 

 white on the under surface, and thick petaled pink 

 flowers like an Hibiscus, to which family it belongs. 

 A suitable tree for poor soil and a windy position. 



Melia Azedarach The Persian Lilac Zenzillia. 

 An ornamental tree, often seen in Egypt, with pinnate, 

 deciduous foliage, and clusters of small, lilac-coloured 

 flowers. The tree grows rapidly from seed, but has a 

 tendency to become straggling if not pruned. The 

 fruit yields an oil ; the bark contains medicinal pro- 

 perties ; the leaves are used for poultices ; and the trunk 

 is valuable as timber. 



Poinciana regia. A native of Madagascar. One 

 of the most gorgeous of all Egyptian flowering trees. 

 It is striking both in its foliage and in its flowers, 

 which makes it a general favourite. The graceful, 

 fern-like leaves appear in May, and the whole tree is 

 a mass of bright-red bloom a month later ; a second 

 flush of bloom will also appear (as with many other 

 plants) at the rise of the Nile, in August. 



The tree is raised from seed, which usually flowers 

 in about the sixth or eighth year, and then only in a 

 sheltered position. Its spreading, umbrella-shaped form 

 requires but little pruning. 



