INTRODUCTION. XVii 



rather more than 10 per cent., are known only from the 

 Nilgiris ; and 29, or 6'6 per cent., only from the Pulneys. 

 One hundred and twenty, or 28 per cent., are not known 

 outside Southern India ; and another 72, or 17 per cent., 

 only in Ceylon. So that as much as 45 per cent., or 

 nearly half, the truly wild and indigenous species of the 

 flowering plants of these plateaus are confined to the 

 mountains of South India and Ceylon. Another 17 per 

 cent, occur on the Khasi hills, 1,500 miles away ; and 



about 12 Der cent, on the tpmnprate nart<^ of thp Him^- 



By far the best collection made from these hills is that of 

 Sir Alfred and Lady Bourne who paid special attention 

 to the Pulneys. They most kindly allowed me the free 

 use of their herbarium and notes while in Madras and 

 though their collection was not at Kew when the identi- 

 fications were being made and this work was being put 

 into its present form, I have used their localities in 

 checking my distribution on these plateaus, and have 

 incorporated some of their notes ; and, while the book 

 was in the press, was able to add their sheet numbers 

 and also descriptions of a few species which had been 

 omitted, more specially among the grasses. 



times by such species, it is usually supposed that we 

 have on these mountain-tops relics of a vegetation which 

 grew on the plains in the far distant past, when, as we 

 have reason to believe from other evidence, the climate 

 of the tropics was not so hot. The alternative explana- 

 tion that seeds have been carried by birds across these 

 long stretches, though possibly true to a certain extent^ 

 does not seem to afford a complete explanation. 



