394 ZONES AND REGIONS [Pt. Ill, Sect. I 



Scaevola Koenigii, Cordia subcordata, Clerodendron inerme, Vitex trifolia, Premna 

 integrifolia, Pemphis acidula, Ximenia americana, Dodonaea viscosa, Allophylus 

 sundanus, Climacandra obovata, Colubrina asiatica. Suriana maritima, Morinda 

 citrifolia, Guettarda speciosa, Excoecaria Agallocha. 



The verj' numerous climbing plants are, with the exception of Entada scandens, 

 all thin-stemmed, and chiefly Leguminosae (such as Guilandina Bonducella, Derris 

 uliginosa, species of Canavalia), also Cassytha filiformis and species of Ipomoea. 

 The small sandy interspaces are chiefly occupied by grasses ; other components 

 are various species of Papilionaceae (Vigna, Crotalaria sp.), some inconspicuous 

 Compositae (Conj'za indica, Wollastonia glabra and W. biflora), herbaceous Euphor- 

 biaceae (Euphorbia Atoto, Phyllanthus sp., Acalypha indica), Portulaca oleracea 

 and P. quadrifida, and tall, large-flowered bulbous plants (Tacca pinnatifida, Crinum 

 asiaticum, Pancratium zeylanicum). 



Kurz mentions as components of littoral woodland in Burma -Pongamia glabra, 

 Erythrina indica, Bombax malabaricum, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Cynometra bijuga, 

 Guettarda speciosa, Cycas Rumphii, Thespesia populnea, Scaevola Koenigii, Colu- 

 brina asiatica, Derris sinuata, Breynia rhamnoides, Caesalpinia Bonduc, Ipomoea 

 Pes-caprae, Iscliaemum muticum. Epiphj-tes are Polypodium quercifolium, species 

 of Hoj'a, Dischidia, and some orchids. In Tenasserim, Casuarina equisetifolia may 

 be added. 



Various trees and shrubs of the littoral woodland are among the commonest and 

 most frequently cultivated plants, such as Cj'cas circinalis and C. Rumphii, various 

 large species of Pandanus, Casuarina equisetifolia, Calophjdlum Inophyllum, Ter- 

 minalia Catappa, Morinda citrifolia. Littoral forest is also, without any doubt, the 

 home of the coconut palm. 



The littoral forest at other points of the East Asiatic and Australian 

 coasts has probably a pliysiogiiomy similar as regards both its systematic 

 composition and its oecology. There are, however, considerable de\'iations 

 from it. Thus, in Burma, according to Kurz, it belongs to the periodically 

 quite leafless woodland, and on the Bay of Bengal pure woods of Casua- 

 rina equisetifolia here and there replace the mi.xed forest. 



In littoral woodland the pro.ximity to the sea is expressed, not merely 

 b}^ marked xerophilous structure — which characterizes it despite the 

 humidity of the climate and the abundance of water in the soil — but also 

 by the fruits or seeds, which are, as a rule, provided with devices to enable 

 them to float. Most of the characteristic fruits and seeds of the sea-drift, 

 that have been already described ', come from trees and shrubs of the 

 littoral woods. Thus, for instance, Barringtonia speciosa (Fig. 213) is not 

 only characterized by its large leaves and splendid flowers, but, oeco- 

 logically speaking, much more so by its pyramidal fruits, larger than the 

 fist, which are as light as cork and have a pericarp consisting of a thick 

 layer of floating-tissue. A similar floating-tissue is concealed under a green 

 husk in the large egg-shaped fruit of Cerbera Odollam. in the smaller 



' See p. 28. 



