15 



fringed at the margins, smooth above, silky beneath ; stlpels 

 bristle-like. Cahjx bell-slinped, bluntly toothed and as well as 

 the flower-stalks shaggy. Racemes terminal, paniclcd. Flowers 

 papilionaceous, purplish-blue, silky ; alee and carina smooth. 

 Legume 4 to 5 inches long, 2 to 2^ broad, acute, leathery, or 

 almost woodv, 3 seeded, thickly clothed with brown velvety 

 hairs ; seeds subovate or oblong, compressed. 



A stfitely tree, 30-40 feet high, and from 2-3 in diameter. Bark thin. 

 Furnishes a superior twooc? of great beauty and durability, which when 

 polished, resembles and perhaps surpasses, Brazilian Rose or Jacaranda 

 Wood. 



Tho Kafirs employ the beans as a vermifuge (particulary for lumbrici) 

 by pounding and takiug them in milk, one or two forming a dose. This 

 tree also exudes a kind of resin, resembling Gu'ijac?tm. Grows in the 

 fnres!s of the colony of Natal, and also in the Mauubi forest near 

 Butter worth (Cafiraria proper). J. H. Bowker. 



43. Erythrina Caffra. Tkhg. (Kafir -tree.) Branches 

 alternate, spreading, prickly ; jyricMes solitary, purplish. Leaves 

 ternate, stalked ; stalks unarmed ; leaflets ovate, broad, pointed, 

 glabrous, entire. Flowers papilionaceous, racemose, noddino-, 

 scarlet. Calyx truncate, 2 lobed, tomentose, rusty; Vexillum 

 very large; Stamens exserted ; Legume oblong, constricted be- 

 tween the seeds, many-seeded. ISeeds scarlet, with a black 

 hilam. 



This giant of the forests of Ohfantshoek, Albany, and Caffraria, 

 grows 50 to 60 feet high, and 3 to 4 in diameter. Its^bark is grey, and 

 its wood soft and very light. However it has been turned to advantage 

 by the inhabitants, for, from the tall hollowed trunk they have con- 

 structed canoes, made troughs, and employed the wood instead of cork 

 in the construction of their fishing nets. The wood is used likewise for 

 making shingles, which, when tarred, are considered to be very durable 

 and to make very good roofing. Fl. September. 



44. Virgilia Capensis. Lamlt, ( Keurhoom.) — Sra?iches erect, 

 spreading ; t7vigs somewhat shaggy. Leaves stalked, impari- 

 pinnate, many-yoked ; rachis channelled ; leaflets opposite, narrow- 

 oblong ; entire, mucronate, glossy above, silky below. Flowers 

 papilionaceous, racemose, axillary or terminal. Calyx ample, 

 bell-shaped, 2 lipped, 5 toothed, woolly. Stamens 10, free. Corolla 

 smooth, flesh-coloured, sweet-scented. Legume leathery, com- 

 pressed, oblong, many-seeded, clothed with a rusty wool. Bot. 

 Magaz. t. 1590. 



Pleight 15-20 feet; diameter 1^, to 2 feet, ^ar/e black, craggy. Wood 

 rather light and soft. Looks well when pohshed, but is subject 

 to worm- eating. It is occasionally used for yokes, rafters, spars, 

 fuel, etc. 



