CHAP. III.] 



PLANTS OF THE COAST. 



M 



being exposed to the milder influence of the south-west 

 wind, shows luxuriant vegetation, the result of its humid 

 and temperate climate ; whilst the eastern, like Coroman- 

 del, has a comparatively dry and arid aspect, produced 

 by the hot winds that blow for half the year. 



The littoral vegetation of the seaborde exhibits little 

 variation from that common throughout the Eastern 

 archipelago ; but it wants the Phoenix paludosa ' , a 



1 Drs. HOOKER and THOMSON, in 

 their Introductory Essay to the Flora 

 of India, speaking of Ceylon, state 

 that the Nipa fruticans (another 

 characteristic palm of the Gangetie 

 delta) and Cycads are also wanting 

 there ; but both these exist (the 

 former abundantly), though perhaps 

 not alluded to in any work on Ceylon 

 botany to which those authors had 

 access. In connection with thissubject 

 it may be mentioned, as a fact which 

 is much to be regretted, that, although 

 botanists have been appointed to 

 the superintendence of the Botanic 

 Gardens at Kandy, information re- 

 garding the vegetation of the island 

 is scarcely obtainable without ex- 

 treme trouble and reference to papers 

 scattered through innumerable pe- 

 riodicals. That the maj ority of Ceylon 

 plants are already known to science 

 is owing to the coincidence of their 

 being also natives of India, whence 

 descriptions have emanated ; but there 

 has been no recent attempt on the 

 part of colonial or European botanists 

 even to throw into a useful form the 

 already published descriptions of the 

 commoner plants of the island. Such 

 a work would be the first step to a 

 Singhalese Flora. The preparation 

 of such a compendium would seem 

 to belong to the duties of the colo- 

 nial botanist, and as such it was 

 an object of especial solicitude to 

 the late superintendent, Dr. Gardner. 

 But the heterogeneous duties im- 

 posed upon the person holding his 

 office (the evils arising from which 

 are alluded to Vol. II. p. 209), have 

 hitherto been insuperable obstacles 

 to the attainment of this object, as 



they have also been to the prepara- 

 tion of a systematic account of the 

 general features of Ceylon vegeta- 

 tion. Such a work is strongly felt 

 to be a desideratum by numbers 

 in Ceylon, who, though not accom- 

 plished botanists, are anxious to 

 acquire accurate ideas as to the 

 aspects of the flora at different 

 elevations, different seasons, and 

 different quarters of the island ; of 

 the kinds of plants that chiefly 

 contribute to the vegetation of the 

 coasts, the plains, and mountains; 

 of the general relations that subsist 

 between them and the flora of the 

 Camatic, Malabar, and the Malay 

 archipelago ; and generally of the 

 more useful plants in science, arts, 

 medicine, and commerce. To render 

 such a work at once accurate as well 

 as interesting, would require sound 

 scientific knowledge ; and, however 

 skilfully and popularly written, there 

 would still be portions somewhat 

 difficult of comprehension to the 

 ordinary reader ; but curiosity would 

 be stimulated by the very occurrence 

 of difficulty, and thus an impulse 

 might be given to the acquisition of 

 rudimentary botany, which would 

 eventually enable the inquirer to 

 contribute his quota to the natural 

 history of Ceylon. 



P. S. Since the foregoing passage 

 was written, Mr. Thwaites has an- 

 nounced the early publication of a 

 new work on Ceylon plants, to be 

 entitled Enumeratio Plantarum Zey- 

 IfDiiff : with Descriptions of the new 

 and little knoicn yenera and species ; 

 and observations on their habits, uses, 

 &c. In the identification of the spe- 



G 3 



