CLIMATE AND NATURAL HISTORY. 229 
cum (see Chapter XI.). Among the Commelynacee, 
Commelyna is one of the commonest genera, displaying 
everywhere its beautiful deep-blue flowers, and more: 
rarely a white-petalled form. Aloes are abundant, and 
here and there a fine form of Dracwna, D. sapochinowki, 
is seen. Costus and Amomum offer their delicately- 
coloured flowers constantly to the view, those of the 
former being surrounded with many scaly bracts, and 
the inflorescence of the latter appearing, without any 
accompanying leaves, just on a level with the soil. The 
Banana, which is so abundantly cultivated by the natives, 
represents the genus Musa, but I doubt whether it is 
indigenous to Africa, or this part of Africa. There is no 
truly wild species on the Congo, and all the cultivated 
ones produce no seed.* 
Among the Palms seven genera may be met with— 
Cocos, Borassius, Hyphene, Phenix, Raphia, Elais, and 
Calamus. Cocos, the Cocoanut-palm, is possibly not 
indigenous to South Africa, though it is abundantly found 
along the coast. It never penetrates more than a few 
miles inland. The Borassus palms (B. flabelliformis) are 
also confined to the estuary of the Congo; farther inland 
they are replaced by Hyphene quineénsis. In the cataract 
region proper there are no Borassine or Hyphenoid palms, 
but at Stanley Pool a new Hyphene appears, differing 
materially from H. guwineénsis of the Lower river, and 
probably identical with H. ventricosa of the Upper 
Zambezi. It has a swollen stem, bluish-green fronds, and 
yellow fruit about the shape and size of a large apple, 
with a thin sweet pulp surrounding a hard ivory-like 
stone. Of this fruit the elephants are immoderately 
fond. This palm is illustrated at p. 142. The genus 
Phenix, rendered celebrated by its distinguished repre- 
sentative the Date-palm,f is only present on the extreme 
Lower Congo in the form of Phenix spinosa. Raphia 
* I rather question the accuracy of this statement. I think that a 
species of Muss allied to Musa Ensete may be found wild in parts of 
the Congo basin.—H. H. J. 
ae dactylifera. 
