BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 55 



tree. It is common in the forests at Ching, near Malacca, 

 and met occasionally in the Peninsula and in Singapore Island. 

 Caryota urens, or the toddy-palm, is met with in situations which 

 •suggest former cultivation, besides C. soholifera, C. ohtusa, and 

 C. cumingii. I am not aware that the natives make any use of 

 these trees. Ptychosperma singaporensis, a species which closely 

 resembles the common palm found on the north and east 

 coast of Australia down to lat. 34° south, is frequently met with 

 in the Peninsula, in fact is the most abundant of indigenous 

 palms. Another species, C. coccinea, is rather rare. Cyrtostachys 

 rendah is one of the ornamental palms in the jungle of the 

 Peninsula. The Malay name is Malam waren. It has a beautiful 

 red hue, and though not ever assuming the proportions of a tree, 

 its pinnate fronds are disposed in such a way as to render it very 

 elegant and graceful. When in Labuan, Borneo, I saw this 

 species growing apparently wild in the jungle close to Government 

 House. 



CuPULiFER.E, Amentace^, OR C0RYLACE.E. — Chestnuts and 

 Gaks form a considerable portion of the indigenous flora of the 

 mountain forests, extending at least up to 3000 feet. The species 

 are numerous, and probably many are undescribed. The Oaks 

 differ from the European species. The acorns are mostly 

 depressed, round and oval, so as to form almost a disk an inch or 

 two across, and the cup is either covered with imbricated scales 

 or overlapping lines of the involucre forming a series of rings. 

 A figure of one of these is given at the end of the chapter. I am 

 not aware that any of the species are valued amongst the Malays 

 on account of the timber they yield. The species of Castania or 

 Chestnuts are nearly as numerous as the Oaks, if not quite as 

 many. They have been divided into two genera by some authors, 

 namely, Castania and Castanopsis. The distinction is derived 

 from the ovary and the involucre. In Castanopsis it is 3-locular> 

 and the spinous involucre altogether encloses the fruit, finally 

 splitting open irregularly. In Castania the ovary is 6-locular, 

 and the thorny involucre includes one or two nuts, and opens 



