1953] 



VEGETATION OF NYAS ALAND 



173 



minating in places in sheer bare cliffs. Most of its summit is occupied by three 

 plateaux: the main Upper Plateau with an elevation of about 6,000 feet; the north- 

 ern Mlosa Plateau, smaller but of about equal height; and on the southern part of 

 the mountain a ridgy shelf of about 5,000 feet, called the Lower Plateau. Drainage 

 from the main and lower plateaux is by the fast, rocky Mlungusi stream, which 

 drops down the slopes in a short gorge and provides water for Zomba town, at the 

 foot of the mountain. 



The mountain top is a forest reserve, and about 40 miles of footpaths lead to 

 most parts of the uplands. Parts of the Lower Plateau and the slopes above it 

 are occupied by fine plantations of Mlanje cypress (Widdringtonia whytei) and ex- 

 perimental plots of exotic conifers. Trout introduced into the Mlungusi stream 

 provide sport for the angling fraternity of Zomba. 



We were fortunate in having for our base one of several summer cottages on the 

 Lower Plateau, which also had good quarters for our native helpers. Days had 

 been pleasantly warm and nights crisply cool on the Shire Highlands. On Zomba 

 we were glad of warm clothing in the field, and log fires in the evening. Our ar- 

 rival was followed by two drear days of mist, drizzle, and rain, then eight fine 

 days with or without morning mists, succeeded by another four days of wretched 

 chiperoni weather at times too wet for field work. This second spell of bad 

 weather continued for five days after we left the mountain. Maximum shade temper- 

 ature on our cottage veranda ranged from 55° to 78°, minimum from 47° to 50° F. 

 Average annual rainfall on the Lower Plateau is said to be about 70 inches. 



Woodlands of Bracbystegi a- Other-Species type, ascending from lower levels, 

 occupied the drier outer parts of the Lower Plateau. Tree stocking was chiefly 

 of Brachystegia spiciformis Benth. and Afrormosia angolensis (Bak.) Harms, up to 

 about 30 feet tall, with usually crooked stoutish boles, and somewhat flat-spreading 

 crowns which formed a fairly continuous thin canopy well above the ground. 

 Associated smaller trees included two species of Protect and one of Faurea. The 

 ground cover of erect perennial bunch grasses, generally 3~5 feet tall, consisted 

 largely of Hyparrbenia lecomtei (Franch.) Stapf, H. cymbaria (L.) Stapf, H. ga~ 

 zensis (Rendle) Stapf, Loudetia simplex (Nees) C. E. Hubb., * Andropogon syl- 

 vaticus C. E. Hubb., and Melinus ambigua Hack., forming a dense stand in well 

 lighted situations and thinning under shade. There were few young trees or 

 shrubs. Compositae and Labiatae figured prominently in a wealth of mostly tall 

 perennial and annual herbs in flower amongst the grasses, of which Helichrysum 

 kirkii Oliv. & Hiern, Vernonia boskeana Vatke & Hildebr., Senecio hocbstetteri 

 Sch. Bip., Acrocephalus callianthus Briq., Leucas milanjiana Guerke, Borreria 

 dibracbiata (Oliv.) K. Schum., and Lefebvrea brevipes Engl, may be mentioned as 

 examples. Orchids of several species, all sterile, were common as epiphytes. 



The edges of bluffs and other open rocky situations provided habitats for such 

 succulent plants as Aloe 16273, with dense racemes of orange-red flowers bent 

 horizontally, Crassula ? argyrophylla Diels, and matted C. globularioides Britten 

 and Aeolanthus serpiculoides Bak. 1 



Rain forest occurred in a strip along the course of the Mlungusi on the Lower 

 Plateau, in gullies and gully heads, and in fairly extensive patches on sheltered 

 slopes rising to the Upper Plateau. Not one of the few tree species forming the 

 canopy layer of these forests was found in flower. Albizzia gummifera (Gmel.) C. 

 A. Sm., common in gullies, and Bersama abyssinica were fruiting. In the moist, 

 deep shade of the forest along the Mlungusi, tree trunks, undergrowth and rocks 

 were thinly mossed, and an abundance of ferns included a fine tree-fern (Cyatbea) 



For observations on succulent plants met with on the expedition^ see Anthony 1949. 



