560 REPORT OF THE HARVARD AFRICAN EXPEDITION 
sent to Dr. A. F. Blakeslee at the Cold Spring Harbor station of the Carnegie 
Institute of Washington, at which station the genetics of the genus is being 
studied. 
On the opposite side of the river from Nyanga, the country is heavily for- 
ested, and with the exception of low winding hills, is rather swampy. Beyond 
Kolubonu, the country is again higher and gently rolling; at the same time 
it is well forested. In some places there is an abundance of undergrowth with 
an admixture of lianes, in other places there is little undergrowth. It is in the 
latter type of forest that signs of elephants become fairly abundant, but, al- 
though several of these animals were reported in the vicinity, not one was seen. 
In this country, occasional outcrops of obscurely stratified rocks are observed. 
Acioa scabrifolia, a terrestrial orchid related to Habenaria, and a species of 
Chlorophytum are occasional plants, the last two preferring the gravelly soil 
in the shade of more or less open upper forests. Terrestrial ferns grow in small 
numbers on the shaded outcrops of rock, while members of the Commelina- 
ceae appear to prefer the richer soil in more moist localities. Although the 
country is in general rolling, there are also several areas where the land is al- 
most level and through which small brooks have cut their winding way. One 
or two swamps such as are typical of the tropics are also traversed, sometimes 
in water hip deep. In these the many trees form a dense cover overhead; some 
of the trees are provided with stilted roots. There are occasional bushes and 
predominant among the herbaceous types that claim the forest floor are two 
or three members of the Marantaceae with the picturesque broad foliage. 
Maschalocephalus Dinklagei occurs abundantly wherever suitable condi- 
tions exist. As a matter of fact it can be said that in this region between Kolu- 
bonu and Fayapulu, the species is common. Particular attention was paid to 
the distribution of this plant because of its relationship to the South American 
Rapataceae, but more especially because of its reputed rarity. Judging by 
its distribution as observed by the writer and as shown by the black triangles 
on the map accompanying this Report, this species must be widespread in Libe- 
ria. It seems quite probable that the species will eventually be reported from 
Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast. Indeed, Herr Dinklage the discoverer of 
the species and after whom it is named, has collected it near Fishtown, and 
from there it is not a great distance to the Gold Coast. In spite of the wide- 
spread occurrence of the species in Liberia, there are a fixed set of conditions 
that determine its presence. The plant must have shade and the soil must 
be sandy and kept wet, though not necessarily flooded. The water of the soil 
should also be constantly changing. As a result of these requirements, the 
plant occurs mostly at the edges of swamps and at the foot of sloping ground 
where there is seepage and at the same time good drainage. At Duport where 
the plant was also found, all requirements were fulfilled excepting the presence 
of a hill. Even then there was a constant change in the soil water so the plants, 
though not numerous, could grow. 
Oplismenus hirtellus, a grass, Dissotis paucistellata and Dinophora spenner- 
oides of the Melastomaceae, and also a yellow-flowered member of the Com- 
