28 



been used in salads in Mauritius. So variable is this plant that 

 it has received upwards of 60 different names, all of which have 

 been reduced to this one species. 



Sonchus oleraceus. (Linn.J Natural order, Gompositae. — ■ 

 One of the " Sow-thistles " cosmopolitan weeds in cultivated 

 grounds, they have all a milky juice, and are sometimes used in 

 salads. 



SpilantTies Africana. (D.C.) Natural order, Gompositae. — • 

 Another tropical weed belonging to the same order as the last- 

 named one. It is a low growing plant with conical heads of 

 yellow flowers. It has been called in Natal the " Electric " 

 plant on account of the peculiar pungent taste of the leaves, 

 and is used by the natives medicinally. 



Striga coccinea. (Btli.) Natural order, Scrophularineae . 



Forbesii. 



These two plants are called by the natives "i-Sona," and are 

 usually found in cultivated ground. The first-named one bears 

 scarlet flowers, and is the smallest of the two ; the other has 

 lighter coloured flowers, and much more conspicuous leaves. 

 Both of these plants are said to be destructive to mealie and 

 other crops, and it is, I think, certain that where they appear 

 in large numbers in cultivated ground heavy crops need not be 

 expected. There are different ■ theories to account for this 

 — one being that they are parasitical on roots of other 

 plants, especially on those of plants belonging to the Order 

 Gramineae, to which the mealie belongs. The other theory is 

 that these plants only appear on land that has become to some 

 extent exhausted by frequent cropping. 



The matter has often been debated in Natal, but so far 

 without satisfactory result. The genus Striga includes about 

 18 species, all natives of tropical countries, and taken as a whole 

 the genus is thought to be a parasitical one, but though I have 

 often examined the plants, I have never been able to discover 

 any organs on the roots, which would lead me to say certainly, 

 that the plants were parasitical, even when they have been 

 gathered in close proximity to a mealie plant I was once 

 gravely assured by a farmer that the " Isona " and the " Horse- 

 tail " (Equisetum) were the same plant in different stages of 

 growth, that is, that the "Horsetail" of this season would be 

 the " Isona " of next season, and when I ventured to assert that 

 the thing was quite impessible, I was told that botanists " did 

 not know everything." Of course the idea is absurd. Of the 

 genus Striga, we have in the Colony five species, the two above 

 named being the only ones which are commonly found in culti- 

 vated ground in any quantity, though probably in the upper 

 districts 8. Thunbergii, or S. elegans, may be occasionally 



