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MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN [Vol. 8, No. 3 



and giant Marattia salicifolia Schrad., the latter forming clumps 10 or 12 feet 

 high. Among other ground ferns, Osmunda regalis L. grew on wet sandy beaches, 

 and species of Asplenium and Dryopteris were much in evidence. Other aspleniums 

 grew plentifully on trees and rocks with the climbing ferns Arthropteris monocarpa 

 C. Chr. and Oleandra africana R. Bonap., Peperomia species, Streptocartus 

 goetzei Engl., and masses of orchids then without flowers. A reddish-pink balsam 

 (Impatiens 16043) made patches of color on open banks. On the wet rocks of a 

 cascade in the forest were quantities of a little reddish plant (16301) of the 

 Podostemaceae. 



Rain forest second growths, in various stages of development, pointed to a 

 formerly much more extensive representation of primary forest on the Lower 

 Plateau and slopes above it. Myrica 16316 was one of the principal trees in the 

 older second growths. Smaller trees or large shrubs of the younger growths, 

 and grassy edges of primary forest, included Kiggelaria africana L., Dodonaea 

 viscosa L., Hypericum lanceolatum Lam. with big yellow flowers, and the heath, 

 Philippia benguelensis (Engl.) U"elw. Also common in this community were Rubus 

 ellipticus Sm. with robust red-hairy canes and white flowers, R. rigidus Sm. with 

 purple flowers, Anthospermum herbaceum L. f., and Dissotis princeps (Bonpl.) 

 Triana with showy deep purple blooms. 



The Upper Plateau was mostly treeless rolling grassland with relic clumps 

 and patches of dark green low forest here and there in the heads of gullies and 

 around the edges of a big quaking bog which gave rise to the main stream of the 

 Mlungusi. The whole plateau must at one time have been covered with montane 

 rain forest, except for a few rocky crests, the bog, and the boggy courses of 

 streams. Whether deforestation came about through fire or cultivation by natives, 

 or both, does not seem to be known with certainty. Stories are current that, before 

 the coming of the white man, refugee natives occupied the plateau and cultivated 

 the land. The grasses formed a thick body growing about knee-high. Their clumped 

 habit made for rough walking, and every now and then one stumbled into a hole 

 dug by natives to unearth a large mole-rat called fuka (Heliophobius) which they 

 sought for food. These holes were anything up to two feet deep in the fertile- 

 looking red soil. The natives from below also visited the plateau to dig the tubers 

 of an orchid (Disa zombica N. E. Br.) which they used in the preparation of a 

 slimy dressing for their mealie porridge. A flat-topped tree-fern (Cyathea 16137), 

 looking much like a cycad from a distance, occurred on the dry banks of streams 

 far from any forest, and recalled the fire- and frost- resistant species of the genus 

 found on the high mountains of New Guinea. This particular tree-fern appeared to 

 be identical with a species which grew in the closed forest of both the upper and 

 lower plateaux. 



Few trees of the forest relics of the Upper Plateau were in fertile condition, 

 but Lacbnopylis sambesina (Gilg) C. A. Sm., Podocarpus mil an ji anus Rendle, and 

 Agauria salicifolia (Comm.) Hook. f. were collected. Poly gala virgata Thunb. and 

 Crotalaria goetzei Harms were conspicuous shrubs of forest borders. A Vellozia 

 with thick fibrous stem and branch-end rosettes of narrow leaves grew commonly 

 as a small tree on rock outcrops with the aromatic shrub Myrothamnus flabellifolius 

 Welw. Common bog plants included the sedges Ascopelis capensis (Kunth) Ridl. 

 and citronella-scented Scleria pulchella Ridl., Drosera madagascariensis DO, and 

 creeping Lycopodium carolinianum L. The open grasslands carried a poor flora. 

 The principal grasses had dropped their seeds; the most conspicuous herbs were 

 grey-leaved Helicbrysum nitens Oliv. & Hiern, H. buchanani Engl., and H. 

 adscendens (Thunb.) Less. 



