028 REPORT OF THE HARVARD AFRICAN EXPEDITION 
of those previous noted on the brackish flats. Along with the Xyris grows 
a species of the yellow-eye grass, Hypoxis, also Lycopodium carolinianum(?), 
a violet-flowered Lobelia, and a species of Eriocaulon that differs by its hairy 
stems from that previously collected on the brackish sand flats. Then, too, 
there is Habenaria confusa, resembling our less showy American species; two 
quite distinct species of Utricularia, both with inconspicuous simple leaves 
that are partly buried in the sand, but one of them producing white flowers, 
the other yellow ones; and finally there is a white-flowered species of Drosera. 
To one who has collected representatives of these genera in New England, 
there is a striking similarity in the habitat. It is all the more striking when 
one considers that except for differences in temperature, the conditions are the 
same in the tropics of the Eastern Hemisphere as they are in the temperate 
regions of the Western. 
The sand plain, aside from the herbaceous types already mentioned, is 
not altogether possessed by grasses and sedges. There are occasional small 
bushes, and low trees that do not exceed thirty feet. The latter, however, 
seem to prefer the lower soil at the forest edge. Thus one finds Dolichos Dink- 
lager, Smeathmannia laevigata, two rubiaceous plants resembling Coffea, Chryso- 
balanus ellipticus, and Memecylon spathandra. An additional herb should 
also be mentioned as it too grows in the wetter habitats, and this is Sauvagesia 
erecta, a plant widespread in similar environments throughout the parts of 
Liberia that have been visited. 
Ur tHe Du RIVER 
The swampy forest bordering the sand plain is for the most part difficult 
of access, made so by its flooded nature, as a result of which it is necessary 
to progress from base of tree to fallen moss-covered log, and failing these, to 
wade knee deep in water. The forest may best be seen from the motor boat 
as it makes its way along the narrow and winding brook that eventually broad- 
ens out until it meets the Du River. From this point of vantage, on the boat, 
the low and swampy nature of the region is equally evident, the high spots 
are produced by the enlarged bases of some trees, fallen logs, or by the knee- 
like pneumatodes produced by a species of Sideroxylon, a tree some forty feet 
high. Overhead the crowns of the trees make a vaulted canopy, that permits 
only mellowed and diffuse light to reach the undergrowth. The trunks of the 
trees are covered with moss with here and there an epiphytic fern or an in- 
conspicuous orchid. Occasionally a member of the Ochnaceae, with large 
panicles of yellow flowers, brightens up the scenery. Soon the brook widens 
and a breach is made above, so that direct light from the sky penetrates through 
the space thus produced and then along the edge of the brook, Cyrtosperma 
senegalensis, tall aroids with spiny stems flourish, as do also some tall herba- 
ceous members of the Rubiaceae. In the brook, sending up their long, dark 
green, strap-shaped leaves that float on the surface are the spider lilies, Crinwm 
natans, and dotted among them the beautiful white flowers with their thin 
strap-shaped corollas. As we continue downstream, an occasional rattan 
