TREES AND PLANTS. 277 



lier body." Of tbis prince's mother I bnow that for nearly 

 three months from the time of her decease, as also the 

 decease of her sister, and until the fanany appeared, the 

 people in the whole district were not allowed to dig or plant. 

 There was danger of a famine, and the Hova authorities 

 were obliged to interfere and hasten the appearance of this 

 fanany." ''" 



In a native account of this marvellous creature it is said to 

 have seven heads, whence its name, and each head has horns. 

 At its death it swells to the size of a mountain, so that the 

 villages near are uninhabitable from the effluvium ; while 

 there are other equally apocryphal stories of its ascending up 

 to heaven, and of its taking refuge in the sea, where only it 

 could have space to move about. The narrator says that the 

 fanany seen by him was the size and had the appearance of 

 a small water snake called tbmpondrano. He confesses that 

 he saw only one of its seven heads, but the people accounted 

 for this deficiency by saying that the specimen he saw was 

 still young. Evidently the doctrine of development was 

 urgently needed in this case. 



Trees and Plants. — There are several trees which have a 

 somewhat sacred character among the Malagasy. Among 

 these are the Fdno, a species of mimosa, which is frequently 

 found growing over and around the tombs of the Vazimba. 

 The tombs of these ancient people were held in extreme 

 veneration, and also the tree growing over them ; the seeds 

 were commonly used in the working of the divination or 

 silddy. Another tree connected with idol worship is the 

 Hasina, a species of pandanus. The name of the tree implies 

 its sacred character, mdsina being the adjective used to 

 describe consecrated or sacred things. 



Another tree called Zdhana {Bignonia articidata), an ever- 

 green with dark glossy leaves and pink flowers, is one fre- 

 quently seen growing in Im^rina as ornamental timber. But 

 " there is an old superstition regarding it, and still believed 

 in by many, to the effect that any one planting it in his 

 grounds will meet with an early, if not sudden, death." 



In the southern parts of Madagascar, among the B5-ra and 



* Antananarivo Annual, No. i. p. 74- 



