THE FLORA OF SINGAPORE, 31 
have a very different appearance from those of the more tem- 
perate zones, which frequently consist of but one or two kinds. 
The contrast is well seen in comparing the English flora’ with 
that of Singapore. In Singapore withan area of 200 square 
miles we have over 1,900 species of flowering plants, while the 
flora of the British Isles with an area of 121,115 square miles 
produces but 1,200 species, while of ferns we have here over 
130 species, nearly double the number in Europe, and more than 
three times the number in the British Isles. 
Seasons. There is no great amount of difference in the 
rainfall throughout the year, although as a rule heavier falls 
occur in December and January than at other times, so that 
plants here have no definite resting periods and are nearly all 
truly evergreen. Certain plants, however, such as Cratoxylon 
formoswn and Ficus Miquelii shed all their leaves at tolerably re- 
cular intervals, remaining quite bare for one-or two days, when 
the young shoots begin to unfold, and in a few days they are 
quite leafy again. This change is often but not always follow- 
ed immediately by the appearance of the flowers, and often the 
young leaves thus produced are of a brighter green, or brilliant 
red, orange, white or blue. This change takes place usually 
three or four times a year, and every tree of the kind in the 
district undergoes the change on the same day. It is not till 
we get north of Penang that we find a detinite period of rest in 
which all or almost all plants shed their leaves altogether and 
become quite Lare. <A good series of observations on these 
phenological phenomena would probably throw light on the 
causes of these irregular seasons, 
Very few plants have a definite flowering month. A large 
huwber flower more or less steadily throughout the year. 
Others flower at regular periods three or four times a year, 
aimost every plant ofa given kind flowering simultaneously in 
the district. ‘This is best known in the case of the Pigeon orchid, 
Dendrobium crumenatum, In this plant the flowers are produced 
at periods of a little over a month, or two months. The exact 
day differs in different parts of the peninsula, but in each district 
they all appear in the same day, and it is remarkable that plants 
brought to Singapore even from as far north as Siam open theit 
flowers on the day for Singapore, and not on that for Siam. = It 
