880 Botanical Notices from Java. 



Sketch of the environs of Weltevreden and Batavia lying adjacent on 



the north. 



Two leagues distant from the sea-coast, these two places He on a 

 plain scarcely 50 or 60 feet high, covered with the richest vegetation, 

 which appears like one large continuous forest when viewed from 

 a height. This large wood consists of a varied mixture of fruit- 

 trees, under whose thick foliage are concealed the buildings and 

 kampongs. If any one expects to see a wilderness or a primitive 

 forest, he finds himself deceived when he enters it and goes amongst 

 the wide- spreading stems of lofty fruit-trees ; one while hemmed in 

 by bushes of the pisang or the sirip plantations (Piper Betle), which 

 creep up the slender stems of the Hyperanthera Moringa, W., or by 

 coffee- bushes and shrubs of Ananas (Bromelia Ananas). 



Of these trees the most plentiful are Garcinia Mangostana, Man- 

 gifera indica, and other species of this genus, Artocarpus incisa and 

 integrifoUa, Nephelium lappaceum, numerous species of Citrus, Aver- 

 rhoa Bilimbi, Morinda citrifolia, many Eugenice (Jambos), Anona mu- 

 ricata and tuberculata, Persea gratissima, Lansium domesticum, Durio 

 Zibethinus, Carica Papaya, and innumerable cocoa-palms, which are 

 partly scattered among the former, and partly form groups in small 

 copses. More scattered among the rest are Areca communis and the 

 Areng-palms (Gomutus Rumphii), the stem of which is covered by 

 numerous ferns. In the neighbourhood of Weltevreden are also 

 found Tamarindus indica. Citrus decumana and Canarium commune, 

 which form lofty and noble alleys ; on many roads are planted the 

 Morus indica and Hibiscus tiliaceus, a small tree, whose large yellow 

 flowers captivate the eye. The Musa paradisiaca and bamboo bushes 

 (Bambusa arundinacea) may also from their dimensions be reckoned 

 trees. The latter is especially found at the entrance to villages in 

 large clusters and on the banks of rivers, to which it imparts a 

 peculiar physiognomy, uniting the expression of beauty and light- 

 ness with strength. Its slender stalks, as thick as an arm, shoot up 

 to a height of 40 to 60 feet, and interlace themselves into a foliage 

 which forming a vaulted top gives the most agreeable shade. On 

 the sides of the road leading toward Buitenzorg (as on many other 

 roads in Java) is planted the Bixa Orellana, small round trees covered 

 with red hairy fruit, which at a distance give it the appearance of 

 rose-bushes in bloom. 



The Casuarina equisetifolia is an ornamental garden-plant ; its 

 slender branches are divided like our fir-trees, and here and there 

 are seen upon the tall rounded foliage the beautiful lilac- coloured 

 blossoms of the Lagerstroemia Regince, Rxb. : species of Ixora, Dra- 

 ccena terminalis, Jatropha multifida, &c. adorn the sides of the road. 



The whole appearance of this luxuriance of thick groups of trees 

 affords an enjoyment which can better be expressed by the pencil 

 than the pen. Let the reader transport himself for example to the 

 shade of a high vaulted Mangifera, drink in the perfume which the 

 flowers of the Uvaria odoratissima, the Michelia Champaca, or the 

 Plumeria obtusa, spread around ; and let him cast a glance upon the 



