Volume 1
Catalogue of the African plants collected by Dr. Friedrich Welwitsch in 1853-61.
- British Museum (Natural History) Department of Botany
- Date:
- 1896-1901
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Catalogue of the African plants collected by Dr. Friedrich Welwitsch in 1853-61. Source: Wellcome Collection.
113/392 page 81
![Ceiba] Icolo E Bengo.—Foto, on the Dande; fl. Sept. No. 5404. St. Antonio ; fr. Dec. No. 5405. Abundant at the banks of the river Bengo ; one side of the tree had leafy branches without flowers, and the other had flowering branches without leaves, Sept. 1854. No. 5407. An eminently handsome tree, 80 to 100 ft. and more ; the trunk is not unfrequently excavated by the natives for boats, as are the gigantic trunks of Adansonia, which it rivals ; abundant in the wooded parts near the river Bengo, fl. with or without leaves, middle of Sept. 1857 ; called by the natives “Mufuma.” No. 5408. Golungo Alto.—In the forest, near Mussengue ; capsule pentagonal- conical, 4 in. long, 5-valved ; valves free from the pentagonal axis ; June 1856. No. 5409. Eastern Queta, fl. Dec. 1855. No. 5410. Coll. Carp. 273. St. Thomas’ Island.—“Oc4”; end of Dec. I860,; fl. and fr. No. 5411. Dishes or small bowls ai’e made from the wood of “Mufumeira,” and the natives in Angola usually make use of them at their meals. The Mufumeiras (the Portuguese name for Mufuma, by which the native tribes call this tree) are, with the exception of Adansonia, the most gigantic and bulky of the Bombax group in Tropical Africa ; they grow by preference along rivers and streams, remarkably adorning the country of Portuguese Africa with their majestic crowns. Not only these small bowls, but also much larger ones for baths, washing-tubs, etc., and nearly all the canoes are made from the trunks, which not uncommonly attain 120 ft. in height and 8 to 12 ft. in diam. at the lower part of the trunk. The wool in which the seeds are enveloped is known under the name of “ Suma-uma ” ; but not being of much durability and of very little elasticity, it is not of much use. (See Welwitsch, Synopse, p. 21, and Apontamentos, p. 559.) XXIY. STERCULIACE2E. . This Order contains trees of the finest habit belonging to the giants of the vegetable kingdom, and also some of the most useful trees of the tropical zone. The great promptness with which many of these trees strike root, from branches stuck in the ground in the rainy season, considerably facilitates the formation of fences and the planting of roads and squares with trees especially in the hilly and upland districts; stakes of 3 to 5 in. in diam., so planted, become established in a few months, and within a year form tolerably bushy little trees. Some species of Sterculia lurmsh gum tragacanth of excellent quality ; a species of Edwardia has edible fruit; and several plants of the Order afford textile material for the manufacture of ropes, provision-bags, and other such domestic articles. (See Welwitsch, Apont. p. 558.) 1. STERCULIA L.; Benth & Hook. f. Gen. PI. i. p. 217. 1830V f^SCe^ G-cPon ex Loudon, Hort. Brit. p. 392 (May 1«30) G. Don, Gen. Syst. i. p. 515 (1831). V J inOhV pTCS?a Hndh Bot' ReS- 1353 (Sept, 1830); Masters m Ohv. PI. Trop. Afr. i. p. 216; Brown in PI. Jav. Bar. p. 233. a very Strictly erecT'h-un k^ not ^ 10° t0 120 ft.hiSh’ remarkable for or sparse offpn uncommon in forests whether dense sparse, often m company with Elaeis guineensis ; (fruit carpels 1£ in. 6](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28120486_0001_0115.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
