46 THE WORLD OF LIFE chap. 



palms of Burma at 68, so that it is hardly probable that 

 any future additions will bring them to an equality with the 

 much smaller Malay Peninsula. This affords another illus- 

 tration of the increase in the number of species of Palms 

 as we approach the equator, and renders them, with the 

 Rubiaceae, the Euphorbiaceae, and the Orchids, the most 

 typical of equatorial orders of plants. 



Through the kindness of Professor R. H. Yapp I am 

 able to give here two beautiful photographs taken by him- 

 self in the Malayan forests, which give an excellent idea 

 of the general character of the vegetation, though unfor- 

 tunately not many of the trees or other plants shown can be 

 identified ; but a few remarks may be made as to their 

 general character. 



Very prominent on the large trunk in the foreground is 

 the bird's-nest fern (Asplenium nidus), very common in the 

 forests and also in our hot-houses. Above it is a climbing 

 fern {AcrosticJium scandens). On the left is a light-coloured 

 slender tree with knobs or spines, and having many climbers 

 about it. This may be a palm. 



Among the tangled vegetation in every direction are 

 slender lines, upright, oblique, or beautifully curved ; these 

 are the lianas or forest-ropes, many being rattans (palms), 

 but others belong to various dicotyledonous plants of many 

 natural orders ; and these form one of the most constant 

 and characteristic features of the damp equatorial forests 

 both in the eastern and western hemispheres. The slender 

 shrub to the left, with a spray of foliage showing light 

 against the dark trunk, may be an Ixora. On the left, 

 crossing the spined trunk, is one of the climbing palms or 

 rotangs (commonly called " rattan " in England), while the 

 dense mass of vegetation to the right is largely composed of 

 slender bamboos. 



The other view (Fig. 2) is more characteristic of the 

 dense Malayan forest, where trees of all sizes, climbers of 

 many kinds, and tangled undergrowth of dwarf palms, 

 shrubs, and herbs, fill up every spot on which plants can 

 obtain a footing. The large twisted climber in the foreground 

 is perhaps a Bauhinia (Leguminosae), though it may belong 

 to any of a variety of genera, and even orders, which form 



