BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 13 



how much remains to be discovered amongst the solitary fastnesses 

 of its interior forests. 



Characters of the Flora. — The portion of the vegetable 

 kingdom of which this essay treats is the tropical Asiatic flora, 

 but not all of it ; and, moreover, including certain outlying plants. 

 The limitations will be understood from the following : — Amongst 

 the included plants of the Malayan Peninsula and the Archipelago 

 many will be found generally distributed over India, excepting 

 the dry parched regions of western India. Many extend eastward 

 to Chittagong and eastern Bengal, several to Ceylon, and a few 

 to tropical Africa ; but none to central India. To the eastward 

 many range over the South Pacific islands to North Australia ; 

 a few are found to the northward on the Chinese coast, probably 

 extending over Cochin China. On the north-eastern edges of the 

 region occur plants of the Chinese flora reaching it through the 

 Philippine Islands. There is a small and peculiar Asiatic element 

 in the vegetation which extends northward to Shanghai and Japan. 

 Besides these, there are plants of course of world-wide distribu- 

 tion which have been introduced in many cases from remote 

 countries, and now are spread everywhere. A characteristic 

 instance of this in a common and rather showy weed named 

 Turnera, of the order Turnerace^, is met on the roadsides near 

 Singapore, Penang, and Malacca, besides the other native states. 

 The genus is almost entirely American, one only out of 70 species 

 being found at the Cape. 



The connection of the flora with that of the Philippine Islands 

 is most intimate, as nearly all the genera are represented in that 

 group. The exclusively Philippine genera are very few and 

 nearly always confined to one species, such as Diplodiscus, 

 Dasycoleum, Carionia, &c. The relations of the region to 

 Australia are less extensive ; but still the species common to 

 both regions would make a list too long to be inserted here. 

 They are chiefly tenants of the sea-coast, or common tropical 

 weeds. 



