ciiap. ii. 
NEW PLANTS AND FLOWERS. 
39 
of having his own way, and generally obtained it; and equally 
prepossessed in favour of his own opinion, which he reluctantly 
surrendered, and never without giving valid reasons why it 
should have been followed. 
Whenever the w T eather was favourable, we always spent as 
much of the day as possible on shore, and always found much 
enjoyment in noticing the rich, beautiful, and sometimes new 
forms of vegetation which covered the land. I met with no 
bulbs, but probably it was their season of rest; several 
beautiful varieties of acacia, especially the yellow-flowering 
Acacia indica , grew everywhere most luxuriantly. Also a 
dwarf solanum, with bright blue and yellow flowers, prickly 
leaves, and globular yellow berries about an inch in diameter. 
I frequently met with the lively little vinca or Catharanthus 
roseus, not with pale, lanky-stalked, and sickly-looking yellow 
leaves, as we sometimes see them in stoves at home, but 
thick-stalked, dwarf, bushy, dark-leaved plants, every twig of 
which was terminated with perfectly formed and deep rose- 
coloured flowers. I noticed also several species of what ap¬ 
peared to me to be Gardenia, some in blossom; also a beautiful 
little grassy-like plant with pale blue flowers, greatly re¬ 
sembling the wild forget-me-not. There were many kinds of 
hibiscus, both herbaceous and woody, and the ricinus, or 
castor-oil plant, both the purple and green variety. The 
neighbourhood of Tamatave appeared rich in indigo plants, 
of which there were two or three varieties, one with small 
dark-coloured leaves and long spikes of reddish pink flowers. 
Amongst the trees, I noticed the aleurites, or candle nut, 
with which I had been familiar in the South Sea Islands, and 
one or two species of Eugenia. The soil on which they grew 
was little better than pure sand, and the trees were dwarfish 
and stiff. But I was most delighted with the few Orchidaceous 
plants which I obtained. Among these were Angrcecum 
eburneum or A. superbum, and the rare and beautiful Angrce - 
