176 REPORT OF THE HARVARD AFRICAN EXPEDITION 
thera, the bamboo indigenous to other parts of tropical Africa, is found only on 
high hills or mountains, not lower than 3000 feet above sea level, and in many 
places not lower than 6000 to 7000 feet. 
The interior of Liberia is exceedingly rich in ferns, and in certain regions 
bracken is particularly plentiful. 
Perhaps the most striking flowering plant, and one which the traveller in- 
stinctively stops to pick and examine, is the Mussaenda conopharyngifolia. 
The commonest Liberian species has clusters of tubular orange flowers. In 
connection with the tubular flower a single white sepal is developed at the 
base of the corolla which resembles a specially developed leaf. ‘These exagger- 
ated sepals are smooth, pure white in color, and have a velvety surface. On 
account of its very striking appearance and its prevalence in Liberia, Johnston 
selected it as the national flower of the country. In parts of the eastern Congo 
particularly in the Ituri Forest, we found a Mussaenda with beautiful crimson 
sepals in place of white, which until one closely examined the plant, resembles 
poinsettia. 
References have already been made in Chapter IX to the floral types of 
Liberia of special value from an agricultural, commercial, and pharmacological 
standpoint, and to the different uses to which these plants are employed by 
the natives. Some of these are also illustrated in this chapter. 
The most complete enumeration of the Liberian flora which we have had 
until now, was made by Otto Stapf and published by Johnston in 1906. The 
list was made largely from the material in the herbarium of the Royal Botanic 
Gardens, Kew, and was based in general on material collected by various bota- 
nists in the coastal region. Among the most important of the collections are 
those of Mr. Max Dinklage, who at the time of our visit, was still living in 
Monrovia and acting as German Consul, and who gave us much valuable 
assistance and advice in connection with botanical work; and of Mr. Alexander 
Whyte, late Superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Entebbe, Uganda, who 
collected chiefly within a radius of twenty miles around Kaka Town, but who 
also collected on the coast. 
The collection made in Liberia by Dr. Linder, the botanist of the Expedi- 
tion, and by Dr. Bequaert, which has been analyzed as far as has been prac- 
ticable by Dr. Linder since his return from Liberia, consists of 1601 specimens. 
Among these, 1012 are of shrubs, bushes or herbs; 182 of trees; 43 of orchids; and 
the remainder of ferns, mosses, algae, and fungi. While many of the species 
have already been determined and are referred to by Dr. Linder in his botani- 
cal account of the work of the Expedition (Chapter XX XII), only an incomplete 
picture can as yet be given of the flora of Liberia, since the species in the large 
families of Rubiaceae, Apocynaceae, Marantaceae, Zingiberaceae, Commelina- 
ceae, and others are still undetermined. We have been fortunate, however, 
in having the assistance of Mr. Hill and his associates at Kew, in determining 
the species of part of the flowering plants that were collected, and of Dr. Oakes 
Ames in determining the species of a part of the orchids. To both gentlemen 
grateful acknowledgment is here made. 
