XXXII 
BOTANICAL REPORT OF LIBERIA! 
By Davin H. LINDER 
LIBERIA is situated between 4°22’ and 8°50’ north of the Equator, in the 
widest part of the forest belt that borders the Gulf of Guinea. The country is 
relatively low, rising from sea level at the Gulf of Guinea, to approximately 
1500 feet in the interior near Bakratown. It is reported, however, that the 
elevation becomes somewhat greater further into the interior near the French 
Guinea border. The land rises gradually as one proceeds northward by a series 
of rolling hills which appear to run in a very irregular manner, parallel to the 
coast. These hills are cut by the larger rivers, such as the St. Paul and St. 
John, which are fed by numerous brooks and streams that drain the minor 
valleys, as would be expected in a country so well supplied with tropical rains. 
Because of the hilly nature of the country, and the fact that the drainage is well 
cared for by the streams, there are no conspicuous ponds or lakes, although 
swamps are not infrequent. The only ponds observed were those along the coast, 
and the majority of these appeared to be shallow and produced by the barrier 
beaches. 
The rainfall at the coast, as is to be expected, is rather excessive, the result- 
ing humidity only aggravating the depressing influence of the heat, yet the 
latter seldom exceeded 95° F. in the shade. According to Engler and Drude,’ 
Liberia is situated in a belt in which over two meters of rain falls per annum. 
Certainly along the coast it is more than that amount; but in the interior, at 
Gbanga, there was evidence of a lessening in the rainfall, and a sharper differ- 
entiation between the so-called dry and wet seasons. In spite of the differences 
in moisture supply, the flora of the country appears to be relatively uniform. 
So much so is this the case, that species found along the coast, were also collected 
in the interior. Thus it is evident that while moisture is a potent factor in limit- 
ing the belt of forest that extends roughly from north of Sierra Leone to the 
Cameroons and back from the coast to a maximum depth of two hundred and 
fifty miles, within the zone the distribution of floral types is limited by the nature 
of the soil. 
The soil of Liberia is predominantly lateritic and is characterized, from the 
layman’s point of view, by the fact that it is red and when well wetted during 
the rainy spells, becomes glutinous and slippery, whereas in the dry season it 
becomes very hard and almost impervious, and its heat reflecting capacity is 
1 The photographs reproduced in this chapter were taken by Dr. David H. Linder. —[ Editor. ] 
2 Engler, A. and O. Drude: Vegetation der Erde 9 (1): 876. pl. 51. 1910. 
ols 
