2 



fruited. Watercress grows abundantly from cuttings, but I failed 

 to raise it from seed. Dandelion on Penang Hill at one time 

 established itself on the banks at an altitude of 2,000 feet from 

 cultivated forms in the vegetable garden there. But instead of 

 retaining the original broad-leaved form it developed into a narrow- 

 leaved form which resembled that of the New 7 Guinea Mountains. 

 It seems to have now quite disappeared. 



Many years ago I found Poa annua and Cerastium abundant as 

 weeds on the Thaiping Hills about 5,000 feet but they seemed to 

 have disappeared later. 



Cultivated ornamental plants of European origin do not do as well 

 as those of American origin. Violets in the plains produce 

 few flowers and those nearly all cleistogamous, well-shaped open 

 flowers are scarce. They produce capsules but never establish 

 themselves. 



Double Roses constantly show signs of reversion as a consider- 

 able number of the central petals revert to stamens. The flowers 

 become smaller also, and I have never seen ripe fruit. The single 

 Roses have always failed and the Sweetbriar also soon perished. 

 Pansies, Lilies of the valley, Forget-me-not flower often once and then 

 die. Poppies, Sweet-peas, Stocks and such flowers, germinate, grow 

 for a short time producing only leaves, and eventually die without 

 flowering. Sweet-peas and Nasturtiums often grow to a consider- 

 able height with extremely weak stems and flaccid leaves, before 

 dying. With comparatively few exceptions the ordinary English 

 garden flowers either behave like this or, if they do flower and 

 seed, as Zinnias, Marigolds, Sunflowers, they commence to deteriorate 

 after the first generation, the colours becoming dull, the stems 

 weak, flowers small and seed scanty. The highly cultivated forms, 

 doubles, etc., throw back to single ones and often go back to the 

 duller colouring of the wild one. 



When one looks at the list of the Flora of Europe one notices 

 what very few plants are common to this region and that. There 

 is a small number of plants introduced and established in southern 

 Italy, Sicily, etc., brought in with rice probably, such as Fuerina 

 pubescens, Fimbristylis squarrosus, Imperata cylindrical Setaria 

 glauca, Panicum colonun. A few more distinctly established and 

 of wider area: Cyperus rotundus, Scirpus mucronatus, and a small 

 number scattered over even the colder regions, Lemna gibba, Wolfia 

 ariza^ Cynodon dactylon, Phragmites communis (apparently iden- 

 tical with our wild reed here) and the Ferns Pteris aquilina, 

 Aspidium thelypteris, Trichomanes radicans, Hymenophyllum 

 Tunbridgense. 



Temperate Asiatic plants again seldom thrive in the Malay 

 Peninsula. The Japanese iris of which plants have long been in 

 the Gardens, under every kind of treatment have remained almost 

 stationary for twelve or fourteen years, occasionally putting on an 

 extra leaf, but putting out no side shoots or flowers. Hemerocallis 

 which flowers beautifully on the Thaiping Hills at four to five thousand 



