Xll INTRODUCTION. 



Africa and South America, but the Malayan forests are much denser 

 than in either of these countries. This forest continues approxi- 

 mately uniform from the alluvial plains to about 3000 feet altitude, 

 where the trees usually become smaller and do not attain the lofti- 

 ness and bulk of those of the lower hills and plains, and many orders, 

 such as AnonacecB, Dipterocarpacece, Myristicacece, and Aroidecs, 

 disappear. 



The highest mountains that have been botanically explored, and 

 which are believed to be the highest in the peninsula, are Gunong 

 Tahan in Pahang, 7188 feet, and Gunong Kerbau in Perak, 7160 feet. 

 The upper part of the former is a large sandstone plateau bearing a 

 very distinctive flora, having the closest affinities with that of Mt. 

 Kinabalu in Borneo. The flora of Gunong Kerbau is typically Malay 

 peninsular. There is no trace in either of these mountains of the 

 Himalayan palaearctic plants so characteristic of the lofty hills of 

 Java and Sumatra, but this flora appears in the Telom valley in the 

 Batang Padang district at 4000 feet altitude, where occur Viola, 

 Sanicula, Ophiopogon, Disporum, and several other plants of this 

 flora. Such evidence as there is goes to show in this a former 

 connection with Sumatra rather than directly with the Himalayas. 



Along the coast-line on the west are often extensive patches of 

 mangrove swamp, the flora consisting of Rhizophoras two species, 

 Bniguieras four, Carapa, and Avicennia, behind which is usually a 

 patch of sand with Lumnitzera, Podocarpus, Cynometra, etc. On 

 the east coast the country is more sandy and mangroves are scarce, 

 only occurring in patches in the river-mouths. The characteristic 

 trees here are Casuarina and Thespesia, bushes of SccBvola, and the 

 porcupine grass Spinifex, with Ipomoea hiloha creeping over the 

 sand. 



Distribution, etc. — Some attempt has been made in this work to 

 indicate the comparative abundance of the different species and 

 their distribution, but it is impossible, without a much more com- 

 plete census of the flora than is or will be practicable for many 

 years, to get a real idea of the abundance or rarity of most species. 

 Many trees especially, by no means rare, have been seldom collected 

 on account of the rarity of their flowering or of some difficulty (such 

 as their immense height) of procuring specimens. Where a plant is 

 recorded from all or nearly all the States it may be considered 

 common. 



It must be remembered that the parts of the peninsula which 

 have been explored by any botanist are but a very small proportion 

 of the whole area, and though Singapore, Malacca, Penang, and a 

 good part of Selangor and Perak have been fairly well examined, 

 most of the rest of the peninsula has been either explored on short 

 expeditions or not visited at all. Where a species is known definitely 

 to occur outside the Malay Peninsula its distribution is given, where 

 no such data are given it is to be understood that so far as is known 



