IN CEYLON. 13 



limited to the upper part of Hinidunkanda, a hill in the 

 Southern Province some 2,200 feet high. The upper part of 

 this hill is for the greater part of the year enveloped in 

 clouds, and it is only between 1,500 and 2,000 feet that this 

 species occurs. It is particularly abundant, together with 

 D. quaesita, on the north-west flank, and is entirely absent 

 from the eastern part of the hill. The species D. acute and 

 D. attenuata are the next in point of rarity, they being 

 limited to the low wet country between Hinidunkanda and 

 Pitigala. Both species occur in abundance in the damp 

 forests of Wewella, Pasdun korale, and D. acuta extends to 

 the Wirakanda forests near Hewessa. 



The remaining wet zone species D. pruriens and D. 

 qusesita occur in the wet forests of Karawita, Siriha Raja, 

 Hiniduma, and Yagirala. D. pruriens reaches its maximum 

 dimensions and is most abundant in the forests of the 

 Adam's Peak Wilderness, and thrives best on the reeky soils 

 in the vicinity of Magala, Kadawatta, and Eratna, where the 

 rainfall is very heavy. 



In the intermediate zones, where the rainfall varies from 

 70 to 80 inches, the whole of the dry zone species, excepting 

 D. Melanoxylon, occur, but of the wet zone species, however, 

 only two D. Gardneri and D. sylvatica occur. 



Intermingling off Dry and Wet Zone Species. 



One rarely meets with any of the thirteen species of the 

 wet zone in a purely dry zone. D. Moonii, a species pos- 

 sessing relatively thick fleshy leaves, is reported from dry 

 places along the coast, though it is most characteristic of 

 districts where the rainfall is great. Again, D. insignis, a 

 species generally distributed in the wet zone, occurs in the 

 Pindeniya and Kegalla districts. None of the wet zone 

 species have ever been reported from the arid zones of the 

 Island. 



On the other hand, at least two of the dry zone species 

 D. Ebenum and D. Embryopteris constantly recur in 



