A PRELIMINARY LIST OF MALDIVE PLANTS. 



same race as the Sinhalese, are now mainly Arab, and became 

 Mohammedan at the end of the twelfth or beginning of the 

 thirteenth century. The ruler is termed Sultan, and is under 

 the suzerainty of Ceylon, whither an embassy with gifts! for the 

 Governor is annually sent. 



In the following list the probably or certainly cultivated species 

 are printed in italics, and among these the weeds of cultivation are 

 marked with an asterisk. Probably all of these were introduced 

 from Ceylon, with which, especially with Galle, there has always 

 been constant communication. The rest appear to be wild, that is, 

 brought by natural causes, especially by the currents and waves of 

 the ocean. All are from Capt. Christopher's collection, unless 

 otherwise stated : — 



^Anjemone mexicana L. (Haly.) 



Ano7ia muricata Dum.? ("Cus- 

 tard-apple.") 



Calophyllum Inophyllum L. 

 ("Duburi," Mald. + ) 



Sida humilis WUld. 



Abutilon indicum G. Don. 



Hibiscus tiliaceus L. 



Thespesia populea Corr. (" Hi- 

 rundu," Maid.) 



Gossypium sp. (" Kafa," Maid.) 



Averrhoa Bilimhi L. 



Citrus LiniunellitsHsiSsk. ("Lime.' 



C. Aurantiwn L. (" Orange.") 



C. Decumana L. (" Shaddock.") 



Triphasia trifoliata DC. 



Zizyphus Jujuha Lam. (" Kun- 

 naru," Maid. " Plum.") 



Vitis Linnffii Wall. 



Moringa pterygosperma Gaertn. 



Indiyofera tinctoria L. 



Dolichos Lablab L. 



Cassia auriculata L. (" Rana- 

 wia," Maid. Bell.) 



C. Sophera L. (" Digu-tiyana," 

 Maid. Bell.) 



Tamarindas indica L. 



Adenanthera pavonina L. (Bell.) 



Perhaps planted. 

 *Bryo})hyllum calycinum Sal. 



(Haly.) 

 Tenninalia Catappa L. (Bell.) 



Perhaps wild. 

 Psidium Guyava L. (Bell.) 

 Eugenia Jambos (" Rose-apple," 



Bell.) 

 Piinica Granatum L. (Ibn Ba- 



tuta.§) 

 Lawsoiiia alba L. ("Junapa," 

 ') Maid.) 



Sonneratia acida L.f. 



Pemphis acidula Furst. (" Ku- 



radi," Maid.) 

 Cucurbita moschata Duch. 



(" Pumpkin." Bell.) 

 Oldenlandiacorymbosa L. (Haly.) 

 0. umbellata L. 

 Morinda citrifolia L. ("Ahi," 



Maid.) 

 ""'Ageratum conyzoides L. 

 Launaea pinnatifida Cass. 

 Scfevola Koenigii Vahl. 

 Jasminum Sanibac Ait. 

 J. sp. (specimen insufficient). 



t Among these are always some very handsome and well-made mats. Mr. 

 Bell informs me that the plant (probably a sedge) of which they are made is 

 called " Hau," and grows only in the southern atols. I have seen no specimen 

 of it. 



J The Maldive names here given are from Mr. Bell's Report. Many are 

 taken from Pyrard de Laval's Vocabulary, 1602-7, the old French spelling 

 there given having been altered by Mr. Bell. 



§ Ibn Batuta, the Moorish traveller, lived in the Maldives for a long period 

 in 13-43-4. A translated account of his sojourn there will be found in Tratis. 

 Ceylon Branch R. Aniatic Soc, vii., extra number, 1883. 



