MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 435 
that bears this bark, which on being merely washed 
yields a red colour. But the discovery would be 
easily made, since the tree grows not far from the 
French possessions. 
E. Mimosa, — M. Caillie saw several large species of mi- 
mosas ; it is a subject of regret that he has not des- 
cribed each. One of the most spreading is the ^ikle^ 
a beautiful tree, with a globular flower of a red colour 
borne on a very long pedicle; the foliage is very 
delicate. The natives eat the pulp 'by which the seed 
is surrounded. 
F. Balanites. — This tree is one of the most common 
along the whole of M. Caillie's route, from Kakondy 
to Djenne. The inhabitants extract an oil from it. 
The Balanites ^gyptiaca, (Delile)* is not 
the only tree common to this country and Egypt ; 
the same may be said of many other natural produc- 
tions, and of plants and animals in general. This 
remark has been frequently made since the publication 
of the travels of the French in Egypt, and the dis 
coveries in natural history made in Senegambia. The 
similarity of the two countries in certain respects, a 
great river annually overflowing, a very high tempera- 
ture, the vicinity of the desert, and other circumstan- 
* My learned friend M. Delile, author of the Flore d'Egypte, 
considers this tree as the ^er^ea of the ancients ; but this opinion is 
disputed. 
2 F '2 
