No. 31. — 1885.] CEYLON FLORA. 



155 



represented Malayan element existing in Malabar from the 

 rich one in Ceylon, rather than to trace the migration in 

 the opposite direction. I do not, however, venture to put 

 forward any speculations on the matter ; such should be 

 supported by evidence, from sea-soundings, of the exis- 

 tence of banks or shoals indicating areas of submergence 

 and the position of sunken lands near the Equator in the 

 ocean intervening between Sumatra and the Maldives to the 

 south-west of Ceylon ; and I have no such data, and am 

 not aware that any such exist, 



9. WalMce is inclined to regard the occurrence of certain 

 endemic animals in Ceylon and in 8. India — as the Loris, 

 several monkeys, a genus of Rats, Elaphrornis among birds, 

 the Uropeltidce among snakes, and certain Lizards and 

 Batrachians — as indicating a separate Indo- Ceylonese zoo- 

 logical sub-region. In a general sense this may be also 

 said of the flora, but in the rich moist regions of our 

 island — the Western Province and parts of the Central 

 and Southern Provinces—and the Malabar coast of India, 

 I find it difficult to clearly distinguish any peculiar element 

 characteristic of both, apart from the Malayan one already 

 so strongly dwelt upon. There are, however, a few endemic 

 genera which do not present any specially Malayan 

 affinities. Thus, Misckodon, a Euphorbiaceous tree valuable 

 for its timber, the " Tammana" of the Sinhalese, is very 

 isolated in structure and confined to Ceylon. Three other 

 Euphorbiaceous genera are common to both Ceylon and South 

 India, Ostodes, Adenocklce?ia, and Gwotia ; in Malvacece 

 Julostyles in Ceylon and Decaschistia in India are respec- 

 tively endemic and closely allied ; and there are also a few 

 other genera common to both parts of the Indo-Ceylon 

 region but not occurring elsewhere, as Kendrickia and Fer- 

 gusonia. All of these have no marked relationship to Malayan 

 types, and may be perhaps evidence of the existence of a 

 special element apart from them. 



As to the flora of our dry region — fully four-fifths of 

 the area of Ceylon, and for the most part covered with low 

 forest composed of a very uniform and monotonous vegeta- 

 tion — it is the Carnatic flora essentially. This is very much 

 more fully represented in continental India than here, though 

 4— -35 b 



