SOUTHERN AFRICA. 25 
boaft of fo great a variety of the bulbous rooted plants as 
Southern Africa. In the month of September, at the clofe of 
the rainy feafon, the plains at the feet of the Table Mountain 
and on the weft fliore of Table Bay, called now the Green 
Point, exhibit a beautiful appearance. As in England the 
humble daify, in the fpring of the year, decorates the green 
fod, fo at the Cape, in the fame feafon, the whole furface is 
enlivened with the large Othonna, fo like the daify as to be 
diftinguiihed only by a Botanift, fpringing up in myriads out 
of a verdant carpet, not however of grafs, but compofed gene- 
rally of the low creeping Trifoliiim melilotos. The Oxalis cernua 
and others of the fame genus, varying through every tint of 
color from brilliant red, purple, violet, yellow, down to fnowy 
whitenefs, and the Hypoxis Jlellata or ftar flower with its regular 
radiated corolla, fome of golden yellow, feme of a clear un- 
fullied white, and others containing in each flower, vv^hite, 
violet, and deep green, are equally numerous, and infinitely 
more beautiful. Whilft thefe are involving the petals of their 
fhewy flowrets at the fetting of the fun, the modeft Ix'ia Cin- 
namomeay of which are two varieties, one called here the Cin- 
namon, and the other the evening, flovv^er, that has remained 
clofed up in its brown calyx and invifible during the day, now 
expands its fmall white blolfoms, and fcents the air, throughout 
the night, with its fragrant odours. The tribe of Ixias are 
numerous and extremely elegant ; but none more fingular than 
that fpecies which bears a long upright fpike of pale green 
flowers. The Tr/V, the Moraa^ AtithoUza^ and Gladiolus^ each 
furnifh a great variety of fpecies not lefs elegant nor graceful 
than the Ixia. The Gladiolus, which is here called Africaner, 
E is 
