Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/64

 40 NOETH-WEST AFRICA. vegetation is always able to absorb a little of the latent moisture, for it survives for years without receiving any rain. Thus the gelgelan {mathiola livida) a species of crucifer, distils every morning a few drops at the tip of its leaves, although no appearance of dew can be detected round about. The very rocks themselves must have the power of attracting some of the humidity present in the atmosphere ; else whence those perennial spi-ings, such as the inexhaustible well of Ghadames, which continue to ooze up in the oases, where ten, or even twenty, years sometimes pass without a single shower to moisten the surroimding cliffs, at whose foot the limpid fountain never fails ? Flora. Although the botanical survey of Tripolitana is far from complete, it may already be concluded that its flora is relatively very poor, thanks partly to the slight relief of the land, partly to the scanty rainfall. With the exception of thirteen new species or varieties, all the plants round the shores of the Syrtes and in the inland districts as far as Fezzan belong to the flora of Mauritania, Egypt, or Sicily. A few Italian species, which do not occur in Tunisia, are met in Tripolitana, a land of transition between the desert and the Mediterranean basin. Nearly all the fruit-trees of temperate Europe grow here, but do not all yield good fruits. The almond thrives admirably, forming magnificent groves eVen at Ghadames, on the very verge of the desert. The quince, pomegranate, and fig also flourish in the oases, while everywhere the vine gives good returns, although the grape is not used for making wine. The apricot grows to a great size, but in the southern districts produces an indifferent fruit. Even the peach, plum, and apple, growing in the oases beneath the shade of the date palm, are no longer much more than ornamental plants. The apples gathered in the oases are no larger than walnuts, and are quite tasteless. In these sultry latitudes the orange is also a poor fruit, although the idea of the " golden apple " is found associated in legend with that of those " gardens of the Ilesperides," many of which were placed by the ancients in the vicinity of Tripolitana, properly so called. The citron also scarcely flourishes beyond the seaboard districts. In the Ghadames oasis there exists only a solitary specimen. The characteristic fruit-trees of Tripolitana are the olive and the date. As regards the former, the coastlands of the Syrtes belong to the same zone as Sicily and South Italy, while by the latter they are connected with the oases of the interior. Around many villages of the seaboard the palm and olive are inter- mingled in shady groves, presenting a charming picture by their varied forms, the hundred details of the undergrowth, and the aspect of houses and ridns scattered amid the surrounding verdure. But the natives of Tripoli lack the skill required to extract the oil from their olives, so that this plant possesses little importance in the general movement of trade. Their chief resource are their date-palms, although certain oases south of the Great Syrtis have nothing but the wild plant, which grows in clusters and yields an indifferent fruit, consumed chiefly by the animals. In these districts are