144 



JOURNAL, K.A.S. (CEYLON). 



[Vol IX. 



in this matter is a mean between "splitting" and "lump- 

 ing;" such as is kept up with more or less consistency in 

 the " Flora of British India," and the other Colonial Floras 

 issued by the Kew botanists: it is at least convenient to be 

 in accord with these for the sake of comparisons. 



Let us then now compare in this respect of numbers, our 

 flora with that of a few other countries. An island area near 

 in size (about one-sixth larger) to Ceylon is Ireland (32,524 

 square miles). This lies in a cool temperate, very equable 

 climate, uniformly humid, and with no great elevations of sur- 

 face; the Phanerogamic flora is very poor in species, 972, and 

 even this estimate would be somewhat reduced if the 

 specific limits were drawn as broadly as in this Catalogue. 

 At the Antipodes, New Zealand presents us with another but 

 totally different temperate flora. Though the area of these 

 islands nearly equals Great Britain and Ireland combined, 

 only 935 species of Flowering Plants are recorded in the 

 latest published Flora. It must not be supposed that 

 temperate regions are less rich in species than tropical 

 ones; on the contrary, the richest floras of the world in 

 point of numerical strength of species are those of the 

 Cape of Good Hope and West Australia, both in the South 

 temperate zone. 



When we attempt to compare Ceylon with other tropical 

 regions, the difficulty meets us that there is scarcely any 

 definite area of which the flora has as yet been so thorough- 

 ly worked out. We may take, however, that of the oceanic 

 island of Mauritius, which is well-known, and is still very 

 rich, though it is believed that many species have quite 

 recently become extinct. This isolated island, however, is 

 only 850 square miles in area ; it possesses 1,058 native 

 species. The flora of the great Philippine Archipelago 

 (the collective area of which is 53,299 square miles, or more 

 than double that of Ceylon) has been recently estimated at 

 3,466 species of Flowering Plants, and the vegetation is as 

 yet but partially known. This shows a very rich flora, no 

 doubt. A comparison of greater interest would be with the 

 vast equatorial island lying to the south-east of us, Sumatra, 

 which possesses a very similar climate to our own ; but too 

 little is accurately known to render this possible. A Flora 

 published in 1860 gives the number of known species at 



