BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 59 



abundant, with poisonous qualities which seem to be well-known 

 to the Malays. 



The CoNVOLVULACE^ are amongst the principal adornments of 

 the jungle, from Ipomcea hona-nox with its large white salver- 

 shaped flowers to I. quamodit with small brilliantly carmine 

 blossoms and leaves with minute pinnae. There are also represen- 

 tatives of the order all through the jungle, of which I. pes-tigridis 

 is the most common ; it is found everywhere, with its five-lobed 

 palmate leaves and funnel-shaped purplish flowers, twisted together 

 so as to form ropes which strangle many a fine young tree. The 

 species (a variety) is equally common in Hong Kong. 



The BiGN^ONiACE^ are not well represented in the Malayan 

 flora ; but observers will be sure to notice Bignonia ungua which 

 is common everywhere. Almost as common is Grewia umhellata, 

 a tiliaceous climber of which there are others in the jungle. Sexa- 

 centris mysorensis is an ornamental climber of the order Acan- 

 THACEiE. It has dentate leaves and many-flowered axillary 

 racemes of handsome blossoms. A Smilcix or two, which the 

 Malays call Pina-pina, contribute their tendrils and binders to the 

 tangled intricacies of the Malayan thickets. Finally two Aroids 

 are noticeable by the way they grow up the stems of trees and 

 clasp them with the tenacity of the ivy of Europe. One is Pothos 

 loureiri, a smooth climber with the leaves usually arranged longi- 

 tudinally in two rows on the opposite sides of the stalks. The 

 leaves moreover have the blades fixed by a joint to the stalk, 

 and the stalk itself is spread out like a leaf. The species is in 

 Australia, the Philippines and south China, as well as Malaysia. 

 The other Aroid is Rhaphidophora pinnata^ which climbs on trees, 

 rooting in the lower part of them ; but the leaves are deeply 

 lobed, often three feet long and one broad, the segments being 

 narrow and curved, with more or less incurved points. This 

 species is called by Europeans the Climbing Fern, and is found in 

 Australia as well as in the South Pacific Inlands. 



Parasites or Epiphytes. — Plants growing on others and 

 deriving nourishment from their sap, or plants which grow on the 



