( 64 ) 



be studied, and in a land like Burma, where every native knows his trees better than many 

 a European does in his own country, a forester will find no difficulty in having them pointed 

 out to him. 



To apply now these 3 groups of trees for the practical purpose of recognising tlie various 

 kinds of leaf-shedding forests, we have simply to keep in view that all forests, which have 

 trees imder No. 1, are open forests. Those under No. 2 are mixed forests, while those under 

 No. 3 are some of the most characteristic trees, which occur in the dry forests. As regards 

 these dry forests it should be added that any trees mentioned under Nos. 1 and 2 may ooour 

 along with the sha-trees. 



The open forests are sometimes accompanied by numerous trees, named under No. 2, 

 and in this case the ground is densely covered by grasses. Such are the low forests. If 

 Eng [Dipterocarpm tuberculatm), phtya (S/torea leiicobotrya) and engyeen {Pentacme 

 Siamensis) are represented together in the same forest, it is almost a rule that the forest is an 

 Eng-forest. 



The varieties of mixed forests may be briefly divided into 



1. Savannah-forests,* if the trees are very scattered and the ground covered by elephant 

 grasses, such as the Burmans call kyoonabin (Fhragmites Moxburghii ?) ; hpoungah {Saccha- 

 rum procerum ?) ; thekkaygyee (Saccharum spontaneum), and pan yen {Andropogon muricatum). 

 In this case, thein-theh, baup, yiudyke, thitpoh, and lepan, are often the sole trees. 



2. Lower mixed forests, if the trees under No. 2 are not lofty, but branch off from their 

 first half or a little above. They never grow on rocky soil, but always on alluvial soil. The 

 grasses just mentioned above, are not found here, at least they form no dense undergrowth. 

 The bamboos also do not form an uninterrupted undergrowth, but occur in patches, one here 

 another there. The sight, therefore, in these forests is open. Teakf occurs in these forests, 

 but is usually of inferior growth. 



3. Upper mixed forests diifer from the former in the loftiness of their trees, the dense 

 undergrowth of bamboos,+ of which tinwa and kyattounwa are the most characteristic, and in 

 the comparative scantiness of herbage. Myinwa occurs chiefly in the drier upper mixed 

 forests. The most characteristic trees are thit-pagan [Milletiia Brandisiana), myouk-gna'(i)a- 

 hanga grandi flora) ; pindayoh {Grewia elastica) ; show-bew {Sterculia urens), toung-kathit 

 {Erythrina striata) and show wa {Sterculia villosa). Teak and pyen-kadoo have here their 

 principal seat, and grow up into lofty trees of fine growth. 



4. The upper dry forests are stunted and crooked, wretched looking forests of very 

 limited extent. They are restricted to the highest crests of the Yomah, and therefore are 

 rarely, if ever, visited by a forester. 



. 9. Tahk of the natural families of plants, represented in Burma. 



The following conspectus of the natural order of plants which are known to be repre- 

 sented in Burma, is made up for the purpose of giving an idea of the richness of the Burmese 

 Flora. The number of species attached to each family are the result of careful examination 

 of the material at my disposal, while those marked with an asterisk are approximate only. 

 But for guidance I may remark here that such estimates are, as a rule, taken too low by about 



The area in Burma, botanically still unexplored, || may fairly be set down at | of the 

 whole country. It includes such various climates and physical variations, that the approxi- 

 mate sum of plants (exclusive of cryptogams) growing in Bux-ma is not overrated in estimat- 

 ing it at between 5000 and 6000 species. 



* Possibly, thekay dein might be a suitable Burmese name for these forests. 



't As regards teak (of which pyenkadoo is almost an inseparable companion in the upper mixed-forests) I 

 must refer to Dr. Brandis' report on the Attaran Forests (Selections of Goveniment of Tudia XXXII p. 51), 

 where he pays special attention to this tree. 



I Of course, when bamboos have flowered and died off, only a dense mass of seedlings is found in their place. 

 I believe that the only forester who has visited this kind of forest, has been Dr. Brandis. 



II I do not consider tracts cursorily and hurriedly run over by amateur-collectors of orchids and 

 ferns as " botanically explored." 



