interest would appear to be taken in the indigenous grasses of 

 the colony, since there has been more applications for the 

 names and for information about these plants than in any 

 other year since the establishment of the Herbarium. Colonel 

 Johnstone, R.A.M.C. of the Mooi River Military Hospital has 

 spent several days in the Herbarium and all possible assistance 

 has been given to him in identifying the valuable collection of 

 plants that he has made in the Mooi River district. Mr Gr. H. 

 Davies, Forest Ranger at Qudeni, Zululand has also sent a 

 lar^e number of specimens for identification, some of them 

 being new species and many rare, and it is l"0 be hoped that 

 others may follow his example, and thus not only enrich the 

 Herbarium with specimens of our flora, but also be placed in a 

 position to obtain themselves a better knowledge of it. Parcels 

 of specimens when marked 0. H. M. S. and addressed to Cura- 

 tor, Colonial Herbarium, Berea, Durban will pass free through 

 the post, and directions for drying arid preparing the specim- 

 ens will be sent on application. 



I regret that chiefly in consequence of the war, by which the 

 upper districts of the Colony have been completely closed to 

 us, and also on account of press of other business, but little 

 collecting has been done, except in the vicinity of Durban, the 

 flora of which has, however, been fairly well worked out, but it 

 is hoped that now that the war is happily over, further collec- 

 tions will be made during the coming season. In March last 

 Mr. Wylie proceeded on a collecting tour into Zululand, visiting 

 the Ngoya district, and in addition to plants and seeds for the 

 Gardens he brought a number of dried specimens for the 

 Herbarium, including some rare species, and amongst them 

 leaves, flowers, and pods of a tree which I believe to be 

 identical with the large trees so well known at Kwamakwaza 

 in Zululand, I have for many years been wishful to obtain 

 specimens of this tree, but with the exception of leaves and* 

 pods which were kindly obtained for me by Mrs. McKenzie, 

 have always failed. This tree now proves to be a Lonchocarpus, 

 a genus which has not hitherto appeared in any list of Natal 

 plants. It appears to be L. laxiflorus, G. & P., but is included 

 in the Flora Capensis as L. Philenoptera, Benth., and was 

 collected by Mi. McCabe near Lake Ngami, it is also found in 

 the Mozambique district, and in other parts of Central Africa, 

 it appears to be a fine tree, but I have no information as to its 

 value, It is now nearly 50 years since I saw the large trees at 

 Kwamakwaza, but from recollection I think that they were at 

 least 50 feet or perhaps more in height, and with straight un- 

 branched trunks, but I shall endeavour to obtain more informa- 

 tion about them. 



