DR. G. BIRDWOOD ON THE GENUS BOSWELLIA. 147 
Descriptio.—Arbor parva; folia et flores omnia citrum et terebinthum grate redo- 
lentia; corolla valde et rigide patens, stellata ; petala basi contracta, et acuta, smaragdina ; 
discus explanatus ; stamina circa marginem inserta, rigide erecta in floribus recentioribus, 
et super disco supine jacentia (velut radii rote) in deflorescentibus; antheræ rubre ; 
pistillus omnino liber et super discum conspicue elevatus, velut metula. 
Remarks.—This is a strongly marked species, the source of the “ Louban Maitee” of 
the Soumalis. It is unmistakably this plant which Kempthorne describes. It is evidently 
also Cruttenden's ** Luban Meyti." 
Kempthorne says, “ The tree is one of the most extraordinary plants I ever saw, quite 
a lusus nature of the vegetable world, for the trees actually grow out of the sides of the 
almost polished rocks. . . . . The trees were about 40 feet high, the stem was about 
2 feet in circumference, rising straight up, with a bend outwards of 6 or 7 inches. "They 
are attached most firmly to the rocks by a thick oval mass of substance, about a foot or 
so in diameter, something resembling a mixture of lime and mortar. Branches spring 
out rather scantily at the top, and extend a few feet down the stem; the leaves are 
5 inches or so long, and 13 broad, narrowing and rounding towards the point, but not 
serrated at the edges; the upper surface is of a rich dark shining green, while the lower 
is of a lighter hue; they are thin and smooth, and crimped like that beautiful species of 
seaweed so often found on the coast of England. The tree has four layers of bark, the 
outer being coarse and loose, like that of the beech, while the next two are as it were 
glued to the trunk and delicately fine, resembling oiled paper or gold-beater's skin, and 
of a bright amber-colour; this bark is perfectly transparent, and can be stripped off 
easily in large sheets; the natives use it for writing on; the inner bark of all is an inch 
or so in thickness, adhering closely to the stem; it is tough, not unlike leather, and 
striped red and white, and yields a strong aromatic perfume. The timber is white, soft, 
porous, and of little use, except as firewood. A deep incision into the bark causes the 
odoriferous gum to exude in large quantities, which is of a milky white, and of the con- 
sisteney of honey; but it soon hardens by exposure to the atmosphere. It is a remark- 
able fact that not a single frankincense-tree did I perceive growing upon any other rocks 
than those of almost pure limestone . . . . It is my opinion that the trees on the Adel 
coast are different from the species as described so ably by Dr. Carter" (Trans. Bombay 
Geo. Society, xiii. 1857). This description of Kempthorne's well shows how we should 
understand the descriptions of old writers. The present Governor-General of Mozam- 
bique informed me, quite in the style of Sir John Maundeville, “that copal grew in the 
earth just like potatoes." | 
Vaughan writes:—“ The hillranges on the eastern coast of Africa are composed 
entirely of white limestone, in some parts so compact as to resemble limestone. This 
appears to be the soil most genial to the tree, and in no instance did I find it growing in 
sand or loam. The tree is first met with at a few miles inland from the coast, and at an 
altitude of about 300 feet above the level of the sea. Its appearance is strikingly sin- 
gular, seeming at first sight to be destitute of roots and clinging to the hard uncreviced 
rock by masses of a rhomboidal and fantastically shaped wood with the most obstinate 
adherence. The stem is nearly at right angles with this substance, ascending almost 
