C. Sappan

Apparently the Jungle Garden is not meant to represent either S. America or Africa. One solid clue given is the name of the fallen tree Sev sees when the door of the Jungle Garden first swings open, near the end of chapter XIX. The sign on it reads: Caesalpinia sappan. The OED, under 'sapan', states that it is indigenous to tropical Asia and the Indian Archipelago. The roots of Caesalpinia Sappan, also called "yellow wood", are used to make yellow dye. Sev describes the hut as: "A house set on stilts of yellow wood. It's thatched with palm fronds.", near the end of chapter XX. Roy

Roy, Huh. I thought "C. Sappan" aka brazilwood aka "bresel wood" (when it was first imported to medieval Europe) is aka "the East Indian redwood" because its wood is a bright red in color and yields a red dye. (Yes, yes--the South American country was named after the Asian wood, not the other way around.) FWIW I thought the hut was made of bamboo. The wood is from East India; the autochthon is from Africa; the missionaries are from the Western World. But don't leave out the animals: a smilodon (sure, maybe some Asiatic tiger/African cat); an oreodont; a red-breasted, blue-backed parrot; and a reptile with evil teeth and a finned back. =mantis=

Correct, but what I related from the OED about the root of C. Sappan is also correct, just not relevant, apparently. What I meant to suggest is the possibility that the location of the jungle, ambiguous in the text, might be in Southeast Asia, where the French certainly had possessions. Robert was schooled in Paris, after all.

I agree with you, FWIW. Roy