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noticeable. Scandent Palmacecs are the characteristic species climbing 

 over all trees and shrubs. White-flowered Berlinia, yellow-flowered 

 Pterocarpus esculentus and Bussea occidentalis, and purple-flowered 

 Lonchocarpiis sericeus, are prominently noticeable. Of the shrubs 

 the commonest is Alchornea cordifolia, which fringes the banks for 

 considerable distances. In one locality, namely, on the Tano River 

 at Canal Mouth, there is a dense fringe of the probably exogenous 

 Cassia alata, which extends for about two miles along the south bank. 

 Of the herbs, GraminecB and Cyperacece provide the greater part, whilst 

 Pistia stratiotes covers all the free water of the creeks. Where high 

 and steep banks occur this marsh group may be absent, the local 

 association continuing right up to the river banks. In some places, 

 such as the upper reaches of the Ofin and Adra rivers, these marshes 

 are rich in Meliacece, especially Khaya ivorensis, and it is quite likely 

 that the marshes lower down also bore these trees, but now they have 

 long since been cut out by the timber exploiter. 



Arboreal Palmacecs. — This group inhabits those marshes in which 

 free water accumulates and remains on the surface for a considerable 

 portion of the year. Examples are seen along the Seccondee-Coomassie 

 Railway where the excavations along the side of the railway to provide 

 material for the embankments have caused series of large pits to be 

 formed, and here there is an almost pure growth of Raphia. Associated 

 with it are the many Filicinecc growing in the depressions of the leaf 

 bases themselves, many climbing AracecB, and also many semi-aquatic 

 herbaceous AracecB. Eheis guineensis, whilst occurring noticeably 

 in the drier parts of these areas, can here hardly be considered in its 

 optimum, which is rather in the tall forest. The commonest species 

 in this grouping are the following : — 



Alchornea cordifolia. Crinum spp. 



Alstonia congensis. Macrolohium spp. 



Ancistrophyllum spp. Mitragyne africana. 



Berlinia sp. Nymphcea sp. 



Calamus sp. Raphia spp. 



Chlorophora excelsa. and many AracecB. 



Grass Fresh Water Swamps. — These occur chiefly in the south-west 

 of the Colony, and within a mile or so of the sea. They are large grassy 

 stretches a mile or two across and resembling the patches of Savannah 

 grass country between Seccondee and Chama. They differ, however, 

 in being for the most part submerged to a few inches in the rainy season, 

 and in the absence of arboreal Palmacece, scandent Palmacea also 

 occurring only occasionally. Their formation is on pure sand without 

 any humus. Their flora differs from that of the beach owing to their 

 being protected from the sea breeze, and to the accumulation of fresh 

 water during the rainy season. 



