The Central region is only very imperfectly known, in consequence of the terribly insalubrious nature of its coast. The same forms of vegetation, however, prevail there which are found in other tropical regions. We may remark here that the plants, which are usually herbaceous in countries without the tropics, become ligneous in these regions. This is the case with plants of the families _Rubiaceæ_ and _Malvaceæ_. We note here also the almost entire disappearance of _Cruciferæ_ and _Caryophyllaceæ_. The prevailing families are _Leguminosæ_, _Terebinthaceæ_, _Malvaceæ_, _Rubiaceæ_, _Acanthaceæ_, _Capparidaceæ_, and _Anonaceæ_. If we take a glance at prevailing vegetation proper to this region of Africa, we find upon the humid coasts impenetrable forests formed of mangroves (_Rhizophora Mangle_), and _Avicennia tomentosa_, _Musa_, _Canna_, _Amomum_, _Pandanaceæ_, gigantic _Malvaceæ_ (such as the baobab), _Bromeliaceæ_, _Aroideæ_. Aloes (_Aloe socotrina_) furnishes the aloes of medicine; and several fleshy Euphorbias impress their strange characteristics upon the vigorous vegetation of this region. It would be depriving African vegetation of its richest ornament not to mention its admirable palms. At their head stands the oil palm (_Elæis guineensis_), the fruit of which, of the size of an olive, contains so much oil that the liquid flows out when it is pressed between the fingers. The seed contains a sort of butter. The sap of this precious tree yields an excellent wine; its leaves prove excellent food for sheep and goats. But the true palm wine is produced from _Raphia vinifera_. Another remarkable member of this elegant family is _Lodoicea Seychellarum_, the fruit of which is larger than a man’s head and weighs upward of twenty pounds; it sometimes floats as far as the coast of India. It is a fact worthy of remark that in this region very few ferns or orchids are observed, and yet these groups of plants are extremely numerous in other tropical countries. Among the exotic vegetables which are successfully cultivated in central Africa we may reckon maize, rice, _Sorghum_, Indian corn, manioc, _Caladium esculentum_, belonging to the family of the _Araceæ_, the rhizome and leaves of which are alimentary; the banana, the mango, the papaw-tree (_Carica Papaya_), the fruit of which, about the size of a small melon, is eaten either raw or cooked, and the pulp mixed with sugar forms a delicious marmalade; the pineapple, figs, coffee, sugar-cane, ginger, various species of _Dolichos_, the earth-nut, cotton, tobacco, and the tamarind.