298 ZONES AND REGIONS [Pt. Ill, Sect. I 



centimeters, but is usually from 40 to 45 meters in height 1 . This tree 

 is best appreciated from a distance, when the forest is viewed from above, 

 as its crown far overtops the other trees. The puspa, Gordonia Wallichii, 

 one of the Ternstroemiaceae, is also very common, and, when in flower, 

 appears from a distance like a mass of snow ; in the interior of the forest 

 it betrays its presence by its numerous fallen petals. Species of Ficus, 

 which mainly grow in the forests situated at the lowest levels, are easily 

 recognized by their aerial roots, and are frequently caulifiorous. 



According to Junghuhn, the tallest trees in these forests are Canarium 

 altissimum, Thespesia altissima, Dipterocarpus trinervis and D. retusa, 

 Epicharis altissima and E. cauliflora. The smaller species of trees are 

 much more diversified. As especially common Junghuhn mentions 

 representatives of the Myristicaceae, Tiliaceae, Sapotaceae, Compositae 

 (Vernonia javanica), Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Byttneriaceae, Lauraceae 

 (Cinnamomum), Mimosaceae 2 , 



Kurz distinguishes two forms of rain-forest in Pegu, closed and open 

 forest, corresponding to two grades of humidity : — 



The closed evergreen forest forms a dense mass of vegetation 150-200 feet high, in 

 which four or five tiers may be distinguished : — 



Of the loftiest trees overtopping the general leaf-canopy of the forest, some shed 

 their leaves during the dry season, for instance species of Sterculia, some Datisca- 

 ceae (Tetrameles), Leguminosae (Parkia, Albizzia, Acrocarpus, Pterocarpus, Xylia), 

 Anonaceae (Guatteria), Anacardiaceae (Swintonia), Lythraceae (Duabanga), Arto- 

 carpaceae (Artocarpus), Tiliaceae (Pentace). Evergreen species of giant trees 

 are among the following: Dipterocarpaceae (Dipterocarpus, Parashorea, Hopea, 

 Anisoptera), Sapotaceae (Payena), Guttiferae (Garcinia), Urticaceae (Antiaris). 



The large trees of the middle tier are for the most part evergreen. Among 

 these in particular appear single species of Anonaceae (Mitrephora), Sterculiaceae 

 (Pterospermum), Burseraceae (Bursera), Meliaceae (Amoora, Cedrela, Disoxylum, 

 Sandoricum), Celastraceae (Kurrimia), Cornaceae (Marlea),Bignoniaceae (Stereosper- 

 mum), Verbenaceae (Vitex), Leguminosae (Pithecolobium, Adenanthera, Dalbergia, 

 Albizzia), Sapindaceae (Sapindus), Lythraceae (Lagerstroemia), Anacardiaceae 

 (Mangifera, Semecarpus), Guttiferae (Xanthochymus), Moraceae (Ficus), Dio- 

 spyraceae (Diospyros), Lauraceae (Litsea), Euphorbiaceae (Bischofia, Trewia), 

 Malvaceae (Hibiscus), Sterculiaceae (Sterculia, Pterospermum), Tiliaceae (Elaeo- 

 carpus), Podocarpus, and many others. 



The third tier is composed of small evergreen trees, at the most thirty feet high, 

 and exhibits a still more confusing systematic composition than the higher tiers. 

 Among them are Violaceae (Alsodeia), Lauraceae (Litsea, Phoebe, Cinnamomum), 

 Bixaceae (Hydnocarpus), Hippocrateaceae (Siphonodon), Euphorbiaceae (Cleis- 

 tanthus, Ostodes, Baccaurea, Aporosa, Excoecaria, Antidesma), Rutaceae (Micro- 

 melum), Bignoniaceae (Spathodea), Tiliaceae (Elaeocarpus), Sapindaceae (Erio- 



' Reorders en Valeton, op. cit., I, p. 204. The tallest tree measured by these authors 

 was 58 meters, and the height to the first branch 40 meters. 

 2 Junghuhn, op. cit., I, p. 315. 



