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EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XX 
and poisonous latex in plants is supposed to be useful 
by being obnoxious to their enemies, and serving by 
its coagulability as an efficient covering to a wound 
when the plant is injured. It is more probable that 
it is a reserve store of nourishment to be drawn upon 
in the dry season. There is a curious fascination about 
these euphorbias. It is weird to see half a dozen of 
The leaf of a Willow (Salix) with two stipules. 
them growirm near the edo:e of a cliff resembling a 
row of candelabra standing along the choir stalls of an 
English cathedral. In many instances the euphorbias 
are overrun with creeping plants, especially those of the 
convolvulus order; when these are in flower the 
resemblance to a candelabrum decorated for Easter 
services is very striking. 
The spider-like euphorbia is a weird and curious 
