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Notes on the Botanical Geography of the Tenasserim Coast. 

 By the late William Griffith, Esq., F.L.S., Memb. 

 Royal Ratisbon Bot. Soc, Royal Acad, of Sciences at Turin, 

 Imper. Acad. Nat. Curios., Madras Med. Service. 



The Coast of British Burma, which extends from Moul- 

 mein to about eighty miles south of Mergui, or between the 

 parallels of 16° 30' and 10° 40' north latitude, is exceedingly 

 hilly. These hills do not attain an elevation exceeding 4,000 

 feet, and even this is extremely rare. From these hills being, 

 with a few exceptions, entirely covered by trees, or rather low 

 vegetation, the Coast presents to the eye a great sameness. 

 The ranges of hills are intersected by a great number of rivers, 

 of which several attain a considerable size. The Salveen, which 

 forms the northern boundary of our provinces, being much the 

 largest. At the mouths of these rivers, tracts of Rhizophorese, 

 frequently of enormous extent, occur, and form one peculiar 

 and vast feature of the flora. At different places along the 

 courses of these rivers, plains, frequently of great extent, 

 occur. The extent and frequency of these plains is however 

 much diminished about Mergui. These plains are, I believe, 

 alluvial ; their level is very little higher than that of the rivers, 

 and they are consequently inundated during the rains. They 

 are almost exclusively occupied by grasses and Cyperaceous 

 plants. 



At Tavoy, and very partially at Mergui, part of the sur- 

 rounding country consists of a series of gently undulating 

 hills, covered with underwood, and presenting a special flora. 

 That at Mergui, which is the only one I have been able to 

 examine, consists of low shrubs, as Cnestis, Omphalobium, 

 Elodea, Euphorbiaceae, Hippocratea, Rubiaceee, &c. among 

 which Henslovia, here a small tree, exists in abundance. 



Note.— Capt. Munro, who kindly perused this paper at the request of the 

 Editor, has increased its value by the addition of several Notes. 





