More to the south, in the Shoa, we meet with an almost analogous vegetation: the Socotrine Aloes (_Aloe socotrina_), which supplies our Pharmacopoeia with an active cathartic, is particularly abundant. The _Celastrus edulis_,[106] a small branching shrub whose leaves possess very similar properties to those of the Tea-plant, and are employed for the same purpose by the Abyssinians, is widely cultivated. The Arabs distil from them a stimulating drink called Kat. Nor should I forget the Cousso, or Casso, named after its discoverer _Brayera anthelmintica_,[107] an infusion of whose bark or leaves forms one of the most powerful vermifuges in the world; and the _Musa ensete_, a magnificent banana, with gigantic leaves and nerves of a vivid red, which now flourishes in our European plantations. Among the cultivated plants may be included most of those which I have noticed under the head of Senegambia; while, owing to the considerable elevation of the mountains, we find many others which belong to cool and temperate climates--such, for example, as rye and barley. The Sugar Cane, the Pomegranate, and numerous Aurantiaceæ, as, for example, the Citron and the Orange, have been likewise introduced into this part of Southern Africa. [Illustration: VEGETABLE LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA. 1. Mesembryanthemum inflexum. 2. Hottentot's Fig (_Mes. edule_). 3. Euphorbia neriifolia. 4. Euphorbia grandidens. 5. Stapelia hirsuta.] From the coast of Aden, where almost complete sterility prevails prior to the rainy season--from the coast of Aden to Cape Guardafui, situated at the easternmost point of Africa, the traveller encounters a constant succession of mountains or elevated table-lands, haunted by the shepherds of the Somali tribes,--a people notorious for their brigandage. Respecting the coast of Ajan we know but little, except that its arid and sandy soil supports a scanty vegetation of stunted plants. The Zanguebar coast is not more familiar to the botanist, and is mainly covered with marshes.