2 THE FLORA OF MOUNT OPHIR. 



a considerable number of species to its flora as then known^ but 

 left no account of them, though they were described in the Flora 

 of British India by Hooker and others. Mr. Hullett later made 

 a small collection here which contained a number of important 

 additions and novelties. His collection is preserved in the Her- 

 barium of the Botanic gardens, Singapore where are also plants 

 collected by R. Derry, and the spoils obtained by myself in two 

 expeditions to this locality. 



With all these collections made in so limited a district we 

 may be certain that we have secured at least the greater part of 

 the flora of the uppermost part of the range. The lower woods 

 will still repay the researches of the botanist, but as the flora 

 for the lower thousand or two thousand feet differs but little 

 from that of similar altitudes in other parts of the peninsula, 

 I intend to devote this paper to the characteristic upper flora of 

 from 3,000 to 4,000 feet altitude, only referring to a few of the 

 rarer plants met with at lower levels. 



In the flora of British India where plants are referred to as 

 having been collected on Mt. Ophir by Griffith, Maingay and 

 others it frequently happens that the specimens were really ob- 

 tained quite low down at the foot of the hills, or even some 

 cases, in the plains and not really probably on Ophir at all, I 

 have excluded these plants, they being evidently lowland kinds. 



The usual way to arrive at the camping ground at Padang 

 Batu is to start from Chabau and march across the lowland 

 country to the foot of Bukit Besar, where the ascent commences. 

 This district is now for the most part under cultivation or has 

 formerly been so and what remains of the indigenous flora re- 

 resembles that of other parts of Malacca. But I may note that 

 at Rellau formerly grew two interesting plants in some pasture- 

 land which I fear is now under tapioca-cultivation, namely the 

 pretty ground orchid Geodoruinpurpureum R.Br, with its nodding 

 head of pink flowers, and Knoxia Corymbosaa, Rubiaceous 

 herb with heads of pale pink flowers which though of wide dis- 

 tribution is not by any means common in the peninsula. Arrived 

 at the foot of Bukit Besar the path ascends somewhat steeply at 

 first, to about 2,000 feet altitude, then after a short steep des- 

 cent rises steeply to the Padang Batu, The whole of Bukit Be- 

 sar is densely wooded, and contains many interesting plants. On 



