IS THE FLORA OF LOWER SIAM. 



The Nicobar Islands, the flora of which has much in common 

 with this region, have been explored by Kurz, and the plants 

 are described in the materials for a flora of the Malay Penin- 

 sula and elsewhere. 



Bangtaphan. — The plants recorded in this list from 

 Bangtaphan and Bangtaphanoi were collected by Dr. A. 

 Keith in 1890 and 1»91, when he was stationed at the mines 

 in that District. The locality is on the East coast of the 



Peninsula with a latitude of 11-15 N An account of 



this country was published by him in the Journal of the 

 Straits branch of the Eoyal Asiatic Society, No. 24. p. 63, 

 1892). The main range of this country, running from 

 Tenasserim to Pakchan is a rough grain granite, flanked on 

 the sea side by metamorphosed clay slate and a great bed of 

 conglomerate rock. The hills skirting the sea and Islands are 

 limestone. Kawi and Bangtaphan are covered with forest 

 which ceases at Bangtaphanoi, and thence to Pateeo is a big 

 area of lalang grass, sixty square miles in extent. This, 

 according to tradition, was due to a typhoon which, 27 years 

 before Dr. Keith wrote, levelled the forest, and a -fire which 

 followed left an open country soon covered by grass ; fires 

 still continuing reduced the jungle that remained further. 

 The rainfall at Bangtaphan in 1890 was only 63 inches, while 

 at Mergui further North and a higher latitude it was 200 

 inches, thus it is probable that this East coast is drier gener- 

 ally then the West coast. 



The collection that Dr. Keith made is a most valuable 

 one, as nothing has been previously done in this region south 

 of Tenasserim where Parish worked, so that his collections 

 fill the blank between Burmah and the Malay peninsula to 

 an important extent. In a letter dated May 28, 1890, 

 he describes the different forms of the flora he had noted 

 thus. 



" Were I asked to group the vegetation here into its 

 different varieties, I would distinguish: 



1. That which is due to man's influence and interference. 



2. That which maintains its ancient integrity. 



Jour. Straits Branch 



