98 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART I. 



statue of the god himself. At Anarajapoora is still pre- 

 served the identical tree said to have been planted 288 

 years before the Christian era. 1 



Although the India-rubber tree (F. elastica) is not 

 indigenous to . Ceylon, it is now very widely diffused 

 over the island. It is remarkable for the pink leathery 

 covering which envelopes the leaves before expansion, 

 and for the delicate tracery of the nerves which run in 

 equi-distant rows at right angles from the mid-rib. But 

 its most striking feature is the exposure of its roots, 

 masses of which appear above ground, extending on all 



THE SNAKE-TREE 



sides from the base, and writhing over the surface in 

 undulations 



" Like snakes in wild festoon, 

 In ramous wrestlings interlaced, 

 A forest Laocoon." 8 



So strong, in fact, is the resemblance, that the villagers 

 give it the name of the " Snake-tree." One, which grows 

 close to Cotta, at the Church Missionary establishment 

 within a few miles of Colombo, affords a remarkable 

 illustration of this peculiarity. 



There is an avenue of these trees leading to the Gar- 

 dens of Peradenia, the roots of which meet from either 

 side of the road, and have so covered the surface by 

 their agglutinated reticulations as to form a wooden 



1 For a memoir of this celebrated 

 tree, see the account of Anaraiapoora, 

 Vol. II. p. 614. 



3 HOOD'S poem of TJie Elm Tree. 



