IN CEYLON. 69 



There are no records of careful observations made upon 

 particular trees for many years in succession, and though the 

 writer is prepared to admit the probability of the above 

 contention, experience in the. forests has led him to believe 

 that the production of flowers in Ceylon Diospyros trees 

 is by no means a rare occurrence. The great size of the 

 trees, the inconspicuous nature of the flowers, and the 

 uninhabitable districts in which many of our species occur, 

 have led most people to believe that flower production is 

 much rarer than it really is. We may, however, safely 

 say that there is much irregularity in flower production, 

 and the phenomenon can only be explained by a study 

 of the individual equation of the plant we are dealing 

 with. 



Age of Flowering Trees. In the absence of precise infor- 

 mation on the rates of growth of tropical trees we can best 

 state our ideas under this heading in terms of cauline 

 dimensions. The majority of our dry zone species, parti- 

 cularly D. Embryjopteris and D. ovalifolia, do not flower 

 until the trees have attained considerable dimensions. 

 Specimens of the former having a circumference of 3 

 feet and of the latter over 1 foot in girth are now growing 

 at Peradeniya, but have not yet flowered. One specimen of 

 D. qusesita,,, having a breast-height circumference of 47 cm. 

 (1875 inches) and known to be over sixty years old, has not 

 yet flowered at Peradeniya. Trees of D. Ebenum, D. affinis, 

 and I). Gardnerj are known to repeatedly flower at Pera- 

 deniya, and have a breast-height circumference vary ing from 

 38 to 50 cm. (15 to 19^ inches). 



On the other hand, trees of D. hirsuta and D. Thwaitesii 

 in their native habitat flower when their stems have a 

 diameter of 4 to 6 inches ; D. pruriens may flower when 

 the dimensions are still less, and trees of D. acnta_and D. 

 attenuata have been seen in flower when the diameter of 

 tKeir stems has not exceeded 25 mm. (1 inch). Th* 

 following table is given with a view to elicit more precise 



