k 
THE FLORA OP MANILA. 147 
ported a low and more or less scrubby forest. Comparatively 
few of the original forest types exist in the area at the present 
time. 
From a consideration of the above notes it will readily be 
seen that the soil and topographical conditions in the vicinity 
of Manila are not favorable to a diversified flora. In connec- 
tion with these matters the question of rainfall must be con- 
sidered, and here again the local conditions militate against 
a multiplicity of species. From June to November, the period 
of the southwest monsoon, there are heavy rains and typhoons. 
This season is followed by several months of comparatively dry 
weather, with only scattered showers. February to May, the 
period of the north-east monsoon, is very dry, with almost no 
rain, making the conditions on the dry hills almost desert ones 
during these months. In those parts of the Philippines, where 
the rains are fairly continuous throughout the year, one finds 
at low altitudes a great number of species that are not found 
near Manila. These species, moreover, are not encountered at 
low altitudes in those parts of the provinces contiguous to the 
city and having a rainfall similar to it. Epiphytes, always 
abundant in continuously humid regions in the tropics, are 
represented by very few species in the vicinity of Manila. 
From the standpoint of the collector or the systematist, the 
vegetation in the vicinity of Manila is a disappointing one, 
especially in consideration of the tropical habitat. Most of the 
species found are common and well known ones of very wide 
distribution. Including all the more commonly cultivated forms, 
there are 1,007 species, of which about 225 are never found 
outside of cultivation, leaving 782 that are indigenous or 
naturalized. 
Undoubtedly the original flora of the country in and about 
Manila was a comparatively poor one, so far as the number of 
species was concerned, and at the present time it is certain that 
in species the flora is much richer that it was in primeval times. 
With the destruction of the original forests, and subsequent 
cultivation of the soil, the proper habitats were provided for 
species adapted to conditions of growth in the open. Since the 
advent of man in the Philippines, some thousands of years ago, 
the process of introduction of exotic, light-loving species, pur- 
posely and accidentally, has been going on, and is still being 
continued at the present day. Then, too, the proper habitats 
were provided for the rice-paddy, and other small-seeded weeds 
of cultivation, which were thus enabled to persist and to extend 
