4 8 
Forest Flora of Portuguese East Africa. 
RAITHTWTA Trees or climbing shrubs easily recognised by the leaves which appear to be simple and 2-lobed, but are formed of 2 leaflets connate along them upper 
rrc BAUHINIA. Tree « shru y g ^ es Calyx-tube various, its limb either of 5 free segments, or split at one side 
TJttTSZZL. Petals 5, clawed, nearly equal, white, red, or purplish. Stamens to or fewer, perfect or some .mperfect, wtth free or almost 
free slender unequal f, laments, and versatile anthers dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary stalked, several or many-ovuled. Pod flat, woody, dehiscent or indehtscent 
[everSsetded ' Ss flattened, albuminous. A large tropical genus, widely dispersed, t tree, , shrub, and 3 sub-scandent shrubs are included I in the F ora of 
Tr nical Africa " as from Mozambique district. The tree I found in abundance in the tropical districts, together with what appeared to e on y P 
of straggling shrubs all passing under the one name Masi-kesi ; in the extra-tropical districts only 1 species was observed, a small straggling shrub used or 
.5. Undelete, in the M’Chopes and Lebombo, but as all except the tree were without flowers or fruit, they were not m condition 
for identification. . , 
R reticulata DC Vtrn name- to, n.Masikesi. A medium-sized or small tree, seldom over , S metres high and 30 c.m. diameter of stem, usually rather crooked 
^ gnarled and though of good nearly black timber, seldom of size and form to be of use. Leaf 8-2 cm. long, ,2-18 c.m. wide, glabrous above, velvety below, 
about g-veined. Young growth rusty-tomentose. Petiole and inflorescence tomentose. Raceme terminal or opposite a leaf, branched. La yx- o es ree, or some 
times cohering. Petals white or nearly so, obovate and clawed, equal, pubescent outside. Stamens to. Pod 8-20 c.m. long, rys c.m. wide, with a 3 c.m 
gynophore, a long point, and a dense coat of dark velvet. Seeds several. “ The bark yields a lough fibre; it is also astringent and used in Medicine. Abund 
from the Zambesi northward, showing preference for open glades, though sometimes found in thick forest. 
Plate XLIII. i, Fruiting branch ; 2, Medium-sized pod ; 3, Tree, general aspect, reduced. 
1 1 1 BERLIN I A Unarmed trees, with abruptly pinnate leaves; panicled racemes of handsome white flowers ; and long flat coriaceous dehiscent legumes. Sepals 5 , petals 
5, unequal ; Stamens 10, all perfect, connate at the base, except one. Ovary shortly stalked ; ovules 6-8 ; buds enclosed between a pair of bracteoles. Several 
species, all Tropical African. 
B acuminata Sol. Unknown to me, but recorded with a doubt from Rovuma in “Flora of Tropical Africa.” It is described as a tree 7-20 metres high almost 
glabrous ’with simply pinnate leaves, 3-6 pairs of oval leaflets 8-24 c.m. long, 4-12 c.m. wide. Flowers in terminal simple or usually corymbosely panicled hoary 
racemes ; posterior petal ample, 4-8 c.m. long, clawed, with cristate margin ; other petals small, linear, dilated or auricled below. Legume 24-30 c.m. long, 5 c.m. 
wide, flat, with the ventral suture thickened and laterally ridged. 
112 AFZELIA. Trees with abruptly pinnate leaves, terminal racemes of curiously irregular flowers, and thick woody oblong pods containing several black seeds, each set in 
a scarlet or yellow aril. Only one species is known to belong to this Province. 
A. quanzensis Welw. Vern. names— I, Mahogany ; 2, Ompow; 4, 15, Hlafuta, or Chaputa; (Benguelle? at Manhica); 5, 6, 7, 8, Inchenu, Insena, Sina, or Xina ; 
10, Musacosse, or Momba periwede ; 1 1, Mugoberere. A medium sized or large tree in accordance with locality, 15-20 metres high, 40-60 c.m. diameter of stem, 
with a good bole and a spreading gnarled crown, perhaps regularly deciduous, but the trees vary in their leafless season. Leaves glabrous, dark green, shining, paler 
b e i 0 w 20-30 c.m. long, with about 4 pairs of leaflets which are elliptical, rounded or bluntly pointed at the apex, shortly petiolulate, undulate and with a slender 
rachis, swollen at the base. Flowers in racemes, terminal on short leafy branches, 6-12 flowered. Sepals 4, 1-5-2 c.m. long, convex, finely canescent, the upper 
smaller. Vexillum 4 c.m. long, narrow below, widening upward and with a sharply widened lip 2-5 c.m. wide. Other petals absent. Stamens 7, of which 3 are 
longer than the others. Lower 2 occasionally but not regularly transformed into a club-shaped petaloid form. Pistil longer than the stamens, 4-5 c.m. long. 
Pod 8-20 c.m. long, 4-5 c.m. wide, 12-20 m.m. thick, dehiscent, firmly woody, 3-8 seeded, the seeds black, each set in a cavity in the shell, and having a scarlet cup- 
shaped aril at the base. Occurs throughout the Province, nowhere in great abundance, but always forming a factor in forestal calculations. Yields a valuable 
timber, and the seeds form a marketable commodity as a curiosity. A. Petersiana, Klotzsch in Peters’ Mossamb. Bot. 19. 
Plate XLV. 1, Leaf ; 2, Flowering shoot, in bud (leaves removed) ; 3, Flower ; 4. Pod ; 5, Seed ; 6, Aril ; 7, Pistil, nat. size ; 8, Occasional petaloid modification of lowest pair of short stamens ; 
9, Tree, general aspect, reduced. 
On the Lebombo mountains near Estatucne what appears to be another species of Afzelia occurs as a shrub 1-2 metres high with a large rootstock and more rounded 
leaflets ( - 15, Ndlebe-in-hlovu), and in the kloofs below another bush 3-4 metres high (4-15 Umseq), but neither of these were found in flower or fruit. 
