THE INDIAN FLORA. 401 



in our European gardens, and augment tenfold their etiolated propor- 

 tions; we must bring together, in the dazzling confusion of Nature, 

 the Mimosas, the Musas, the odorous Screw-pines, the Mangoes, and 

 the Orange trees; twine around their trunks the many-branched 

 stems of the Bignonias, the Nagatelly, the Dictantes-Sambas, and the 

 Lianas which furnish pepper and the betel-nut; group under their 

 shade the most beautiful varieties of Azaleas, Jasmines, and Gardenias; 

 unite those Laurels whence we extract camphor, cassia, and cinnamon, 

 with the red Santul, the Nopals, and the Dragon trees which supply 

 the costly gum-lacs ; the Shrubs which give us spikenard, cardamoms, 

 and amome, with those Canes which secrete sugar. Above these 

 masses of flowers, above these sources of honey and perfume, we must 

 next display the immense leaves of the Talipot and the Bourbon- 

 palm, must spread in undulations the aerial palm-crests of the Cocoa- 

 nut and the gigantic Bamboo ; must accumulate the sombre verdure 

 of the Teaks and the Tamarinds, and the impenetrable branches of the 

 consecrated Pines. Then, all this being accomplished, we shall still 

 have but a vague and colourless perception of the Indian Flora, and 

 notably of that which clothes the base of the Western Ghauts to the 

 east and to the south of the city of Goa. 



The difficulty of picturing to ourselves the entirety of so glorious 

 and rich a scene reveals the impossibility of seizing all its details, of 

 studying one by one all its elements. Our attention, however, will 

 be arrested by a small number of species remarkable above all others 

 by their extraordinary dimensions, the elegance of their bearing, the 

 beauty of their flowers and foliage, or by some peculiar and destruc- 

 tive property. 



We notice in the first place several trees whose close relationship 

 cannot be mistaken to the date trees which we have already met with 

 in the open Desert, and which, we may remember, constituted the 

 entire wealth of the inhabitants of the oases. We find representatives 

 of the immense family of palms in every tropical country, and even 

 in the coral islands of the great ocean. India possesses several 

 species. I shall refer only to the Borassus flabelliformis, whose 



26 



