THE AFRICAN RUBBER VINES 189 



This vine is very widely distributed over a large portion 

 of tropical Africa. Its western limit is French Guinea, 

 whence it extends eastwards, through Sierra Leone, the 

 Gold Coast, and Nigeria, across the contment into the 

 Bahr-el-Ghazal Province of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ; 

 south of this line it occurs throughout the Cameroons, 

 the French and Belgian Congo, and also in Angola. Nor- 

 mally the plant is found as a vine, but it also occurs as 

 a bush in open country. Chevalier considers that the 

 species L. humilis, K. Schum., from the Congo is really 

 the bushy form of L. owariensis. 



The rubber fiurnished by L. owariensis is of excellent 

 quality, and the vme is one of the principal sources of 

 African rubber. 



Landolphia Klainei, Pierre. — A climbing slu-ub, usually 

 attaining a very large size, with long branched tendrils 

 (modified inflorescences). The leaves are oblong, gradu- 

 ally tapering to an obtuse or subacute acumen, and 

 rounded or shortly subacute at the base ; 5 to 10 in. 

 long and 1| to 3 in. broad. The flowers occur in dense, 

 subsessile, many-flowered corymbs or in elongated 

 panicles. The fruit is globose and very large, from 6 to 

 10 in. in diameter, yellow when matm^e, with hard rind. 



L. Klainei is one of the most vigorous of the African 

 rubber vines and is noteworthy in havmg such very large 

 fruits. It is an important source of rubber in the Belgian 

 Congo, and also occurs in the French Congo, the Cameroons, 

 and the Gaboon. This vine has been recorded from the 

 Gold Coast, but does not appear to be abundant in that 

 country. 



Landolphia Kirkii, Dyer. — A climbing shrub with long 

 branched tendi'ils (modified inflorescences). The leaves 

 are very variable in size on the same branch, lanceolate 

 to oblong, rarely more or less ovate or elliptic, usually 

 gradually tapering mto a short obtuse acumen, and 

 shortly acute or obtuse at the base ; 1 to 4 in. long and 

 from 1 to IJ in. broad. The flowers are whitish and are 

 arranged in dense, subsessile, many-flowered corymbs or 

 in somewhat loose panicles. The fruit is obovoid-globose, 

 and from 1|- to 3 in. in diameter. (See Plate X.) 



L. Kirkii is the most important rubber vine in East 

 Africa, where it is very widely distributed. It occurs in 

 Abyssinia, the East Africa Protectorate (but not in 



