CHAP. III. 
RARE AND BEAUTIFUL TREES. 
57 
in part account for the long thin fleshless legs and arms and 
the flexible joints of the Coolies, so different from the stiff 
muscular limbs of the Creoles. 
The habitations of the more respectable or wealthy classes 
in Port Louis, and almost all except those in the central and 
crowded parts of the town, are of stone, coloured white or 
yellow, and protected from the sun by verandahs or lattice- 
work. They stand within enclosures, opening by wide and 
ornamental gateways into the principal streets. These courts 
are planted with flowers, and shaded by the most rare and 
beautiful of tropical trees. Amongst these, the most um¬ 
brageous are the bread-fruit, the badamia, and the tamarind, 
with its lofty light-green foliage; while the most elegant are 
the bamboo, the cocoa-nut, the date, and other species of 
palms. Mingled with these and other tall-growing species, are 
numbers of choice flowering shrubs and trees, including ixoras 
and the hibiscus, with blossoms of every hue; the Poinsettia 
pulcherrima, with its large, rich, deep crimson bracts, the sang- 
dragon or Pterocarpus draco , at times a large tree, presenting 
one mass of bright yellow bloom. In other parts are seen the 
Eugenia or jambosa, with its pink myrtle-like blossom; the 
Kigelia pinnata , chandelier tree, with its purple bell-shaped 
flowers, resembling those of the Cohcea scandens ; as well as the 
Bauhinia, and more than one species of erythrina. But con¬ 
spicuous beyond all the rest is the stately and gorgeous 
Poinciana regia, compact-growing and regular in form, but 
retaining something of the acacia habit, rising sometimes to 
the height of forty or fifty feet, and, between the months of 
December and April, presenting, amidst its delicate pea-green 
pinnated leaves, one vast pyramid of bunches of bright 
dazzling scarlet flowers. Seen sometimes over the tops of the 
houses, and at others in an open space, standing forth in truly 
regal splendour, this is certainly one of the most magnificent 
of trees. Its common name is mille fleurs, or flamboyant. 
The Poinciana and the large beautifully yellow-flowering 
