CuAP. III.] PLANTS OF THE COAST. ST 



A little further inland, the sandy plains are covered 

 by a thorny jungle, the plants of which are the same 

 as those of the Carnatic, the chmate being ahke ; and 

 wherever man has encroached on the solitude, groves of 

 coco-nut palms mark the vicinity of his habitations. 



Eemote from the sea, the level country of the north 

 has a flora almost identical with that of Coromandel ; but 

 the arid nature of the Ceylon soil, and its drier atmo- 

 sphere, is attested by the greater proportion of euphor- 

 bias and Heshy shrubs, as well as by the wiry and 

 stunted natm^e of the trees, their smaller leaves and 

 thorny stems and branches.^ 



Conspicuous amongst them are acacias of many lands ; 

 Cassia fistula, the wood apple {Feronia elephantum\ and 

 the mustard tree of Scripture {Salvadora Persica), 

 wliich extends from Ceylon to the Holy Land. The 

 margosa (Azadirachta Indica), the satin wood, the 

 Ceylon oak, and the tamarind and ebony, are examples 

 of the larger trees ; and in the extreme north and west 

 the Palmp'a palm takes the place of the coco-nut, and 

 not only hnes the shore, but fills the landscape on every 

 side with its shady and prohfic groves. 



Proceeding southward on the western coast, the 

 acacias disappear, and the greater profusion of vegeta- 

 tion, the taller growth of the timber, and the darker 

 tinge of the fohage, all attest the influence of the in- 

 creased moisture both fi'om the rivers and the rains. 

 The brilhant Lvoras, Erythrinas, Buteas, Jonesias, Hibis- 

 cus, and a variety of flowering shrubs of similar beauty, 

 enhven the forests with their splendom- ; and the seeds 

 of the cinnamon, carried by the birds from the culti- 

 vated gardens near the coasts, have germinated in the 

 sandy soil, and diversify the woods with the fresh ver- 

 dure of its pohshed leaves and dehcately-tinted shoots. 

 It is to be found universally to a considerable height in 

 the lower range of hills, and thither the Chahas were 



' Dr. Gardner. 

 o 4 



