50 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 



[Part I. 



the roots of wliicli are the Indian Madder (in which, 

 under the Dutch Government, some tribes in the Wanny 

 paid tlieu- tribute) ; the gorgeous Gloriosa superha^ 

 the beautiful Vistnu-karandi ^ with its profusion of 

 bhie flowers, which remind one of tlie Enghsh " Forget- 

 me-not," and the thickly-matted verdure of the Hir- 

 amana-cloetta^^ so well adapted for imparting con- 

 sistency to the soil. In the next stage low shrubs 

 make their appearance, their seeds being drifted by the 

 waves and wind, and taldng ready root wherever they 

 happen to rest. The foremost of these are the Sca3- 

 volas^ and Screw Pines'^, wliich grow luxuriantly 

 witliin tlie actual wash of the tide, while behind them 

 rises a dense growth of peculiar plants, each distin- 

 guished by the Singhalese by the prefix of " Moodu," to 

 indicate its partiahty for the sea.^ 



Where the sand in the lagoons and estuaries is more 

 or less mingled with the alluvium brought down by 

 the rivers, there are plants of another class which are 

 equally characteristic. Amongst these the Mangroves ^ 

 take the first place in respect to their mass of vege- 

 tation ; then follow the Belh-patta ^ and Suriya- 

 gaha ^, with their large hibiscus-like flowers ; the Ta- 

 marisks ^ ; tlie Acanthus ^'^, with its beautiful blue 

 petals and hoUy-hke leaves ; the Water Coco-nut ^^ ; 

 the ^giceras and Hernandia ^'•'', Avitli its sonorous 

 fruits ; while the dry sands above are taken possession 

 of by the Acacias, Salvadora Persica (the true mus- 



^ Evolvulus alsinoides. 



^ Lippia nodiflora. 



^ Sooevola takkada and S. Koenigii. 



^ Pandanxis odoratissimus. 



^ Moodu-kaduru (Oc/irosiajxirvi/lo- 

 rci) ; 3Ioodu-cohhe (Ornifrophe ser- 

 ratci) ; 3Ioodu-7mtrimf/a (Sophora to- 

 inentosa), Sec. &c. Amongst these 

 marine shrubs the Nil-picha (Gucf- 

 farda spceiosa), with its white and 

 delightfully fragTant flowers, is a con- 



spicuous object on some parts of the 

 sea - shore between Colombo and 

 Point-de-Galle. 



6 Two species of Rhizophora, two 

 of Bnic/mera, and one of CeriojiS. 



^ Paritium tilliaceum. 



^ Thespesia popidnea. 



^ Tamarix Indica. 



^° Dilivaria ilicifolia. 



^1 Nipa fruticans. 



" Hernandia sonora. 



