o18 REPORT OF THE HARVARD AFRICAN EXPEDITION 
character that makes the plants useful to the natives in the treatment of “craw- 
craw’ or itching. This use seems to have come about through the application of 
the principles of the doctrine of signatures, yet withal, the leaves giving an 
increased surface, seem to add to the pleasure and efficacy of scratching. In 
moist sandy depressions, the beautiful and characteristic foliage of a member 
of the ginger family, Aframomum sp., forms dense thickets. The fronds of leaves 
range from five to nearly ten feet in height and at the base of these on separate 
short pedicels, not more than a foot long, occur the white canna-like flowers in 
some cases, or the rounded tapering orange fruits in others. These fruits are also 
eaten locally. Their flavor is highly aromatic and distinctly that of raw ginger, 
although the texture is coarse and fibrous, a quality which reduces the value of 
the untreated product as a delicacy for the average white man. Some of the 
other bushes of this flat sandy region are Napoleona sp.; Heisteria parvifolia, 
the flowers of which are insignificant and pale yellow until after fertilization 
when the calices enlarge, become fleshy, and bright pinkish-red. This genus is 
of South American affinity. Hriosema glomeratum is also found here as elsewhere 
in the grassy sand plains along the coast, at least as far as Duport. 
In the shallow pools occurring near the beach one finds a species of Nym- 
phaea, related to N. lotus, and a beautiful species of Utricularia which produces 
pale pinkish-lavender flowers on pedicels that rise four inches above the surface 
of the water. This species belongs to the group which produces conspicuous 
leaves equipped with the characteristic bladder-like traps that are frequently 
found to be filled with lower forms of aquatic life or organic matter. Bordering 
the pond are low trees of Anthostemma senegalense, twelve to fifteen feet high, 
with slender pendant branches arching downward and with opposite leaves at 
the axils of which are produced the small greenish flowers. Nearby occur the 
woody vines of Banisteria leona of the Malpighiaceae, its bright yellow flowers 
arranged in conspicuous though relatively small panicles. On the same bush 
are also the brilliant deep red two-winged fruits. 
Before leaving the sandy plain, mention should be made of three striking 
bushes, two of which belong in the same genus, namely Strophanthus. These 
two species, S. sarmentosus and S. gratus produce in their seeds and roots the 
powerful poison strophanthin which is used for poisoning arrows. The latter 
species which also grows in the interior, is said to produce the more powerful 
poison. According to information furnished by a member of the Frontier Force, 
these poisoned arrows were used with telling effect by natives of the village 
under the leadership of Suahkoko, the present village chief (who by the way, is a 
woman), in their stand against the encroachment of Americo-Liberian authority. 
The other species, S. sarmentosus, shown in the accompanying photograph, is a 
bush eight to ten feet high, the branches of which become arcuate and intertwine. 
On the terminal parts of the branches for a considerable distance, are produced 
numerous large pale pink flowers of which the petals taper to produce tentacle- 
like elongations. The fruit is a large two-parted affair, each wing of which is 
between eight and ten inches long. Wing is hardly an appropriate term, for the 
ovary, enclosing numerous plumed seeds, is almost round in cross-section, only 
