FOLIAGE OF TROPICAL TREES. 205 



placed in more fitting surroundings than under this 

 great oriental representative of the vegetable world 

 whose age in comparison to that of man, appears almost 

 as eternal. 



The remarkable size and beauty of the foliage of 

 many of the tropical trees is a feature which can 

 hardly fail to attract the notice of every observer. 

 This is a matter which has only been dealt with in 

 a cursory way by many writers, who are content 

 with the bare assertion of the fact, accompanied, it 

 may be, with one or two examples of prominent 

 cases. We shall, however, venture to go into this 

 somewhat more in detail, while calling attention to 

 certain points which, we think, deserve to be more 

 generally noticed. 



We must, however, premise our remarks, in the first 

 place, by calling the reader's attention to the fact that 

 in many cases the foliage of the mature, full-grown 

 tree, is notably smaller in size than that of the young 

 plant or seedling; so much so, that the stranger is 

 sometimes inclined to doubt whether these great trees 

 are the true progenitors of the younger and more 

 vigorously growing seedlings, whose large and hand- 

 some leaves excite the admiration of all beholders. 

 A capital instance of this is afforded by our old, and 

 in England now well known friend, the " Ficus 

 Elastica " or Asiatic Caoutchouc tree (often erroneously 

 called the "India Rubber tree"), the beauty of whose 

 foliage has caused it to be largely cultivated by the 

 London market gardeners, until there are probably 

 few houses in London which have not at one time 

 or other been adorned by its splendid, dark green, 

 glossy leaves. Yet, in the old tree, in its natural 



