No. 31.— 1885.] 



CEYLON FLOBA. 



143 



Nuwara Eliya, and have all been imported within the last 

 50 years, mostly with grass seed. The great Mullein 

 (Verbascum Thapsus ) now looks as thoroughly native as 

 the tall Lobelia excelsa along with which it grows, and in 

 several respects resembles ; and such homely plants as the 

 Chickweed, the Spurrey, the narrow-leaved Plantain (Plan- 

 tago lanceolata), the Dutch clover, the Dock (Rumex 

 obtusifolius), and the Yarrow, have quite established them- 

 selves as factors in the roadside vegetation. 



Thus we have two very distinct classes of exotic natura- 

 lized plants in Ceylon, tropical and temperate ; to which 

 may perhaps be added a third intermediate one, compre- 

 hending the weeds of the Coffee and other estates in the hills, 

 which are principally annual wide-spread Composites of 

 uncertain origin, and occur in vast abundance ; as the White 

 weed (Ageratum conyzoides), Gnapkalium indiciim (absurdly 

 called in some places " Wild Mignonette"), Erigeron lini- 

 foliuSy and others. 



The whole number of the various sorts of foreigners 

 sufficiently well established to find a place in this Catalogue is, 

 including those commonly cultivated and often appearing as 

 if wild, no less than 1 94. After clearing these out of the way 

 wefind 2,729 Phanerogamic Plants remaining, and it is with 

 this, the truly native flora, that we are now concerned.* 



4. Considering the variety of aspect, climate, and ele- 

 vation of this tropical island and its notoriously luxuriant 

 vegetation, it might be expected to contain a larger number 

 of species than that above given, and indeed before the 

 flora had been well worked out a very much larger estimate 

 was formed. Thus, Gardner in 1845 thought there would 

 prove to be between 4,000 and 5,000 species in Ceylon, but it 

 must be remembered that estimates of this sort greatly depend 

 on the individual botanist's views as to specific limitations. 

 Perhaps that number of Ceylon "species" has actually 

 been described in books, but many are here considered as 

 varieties. And I ought to say that the course followed here 



* A suspicion of artificial introduction attaches to a few also of these — 

 such are marked in the Catalogue by a f — whilst the certainly introduced 

 and naturalized ones have * prefixed, and those half wild from cultiva- 

 tion are in ( ). 



