214 ANIMAL LIFE AND HUMAN PEOGRESS 



apparently ideal type of vegetation occurs there in many 

 places. Neither was it seen in the dambo or savannah or the 

 thorny scrub beyond, but in the forest proper it was common 

 and very widely distributed. The vegetation in the so-called 

 " fly zone " in Nyasaland consists for the most part of typi- 

 cally " low forest," and in this respect is characteristic 

 of that of the whole of the country. The relative density of 

 the forest varies considerably ; in some places the trees are 

 fairly close together, but even so, small open areas are fre- 

 quent, and much of the country is more or less park-like and 

 generally flat, though slightly imdulating in places. The 

 tree which preponderates in this region is the Sanya or Iron- 

 wood tree {Copaifera mopanie, Kirk) ; in fact, it is so abundant 

 that those portions of the forest in which it abounds are 

 referred to as the " Sanya country " both by natives and by 

 Europeans. In the dry season it supports a scanty foliage, 

 and in the distance bears a striking resemblance to a small 

 and rather lanky elm. The leaves, though hard and rather 

 dry, are eaten extensively by the Impala antelope {Aepyceros 

 melampus) and more sparingly also by other antelopes. 

 Beneath such trees the land is generally clothed with short 

 grass, which adds considerably to the park-like appearance 

 of the country. 



It must be distinctly understood, however, that there is 

 not an unbroken line of Sanya trees. Many are the changes 

 in the character of the flora even in relatively small areas. 

 In places there may be a rather dense undergrowth of shrubs 

 or scrub with an almost total absence of grass. Isolated 

 clumps of trees, occupying the low mounds of deserted 

 " ant-hills " (Termites), are quite a feature in some parts of 

 the country, especially where the forest merges into the semi- 

 dambo areas ; such clumps, especially the older ones, often 

 have a shade -giving undergrowth of straggling and non- 

 deciduous shrubs, whilst the surrounding land may be 

 clothed with the dwarfer kinds of grass. Baobabs too are 

 often seen within the forest belt ; ebony {Diospyrus sp.) is 

 very common, but Eryihrina sp. less so. The giant creeper 

 (? Landolphia sp.), with its soft, cork-like tissues and serpentine 



