GUNONG KARANG. 
35 
British species. It was delightful to find, so far from home, a plant 
familiar to my eye, and connected in its associations with the dearest 
scenes of my life. 
Amongst the flowering plants, the most remarkable was the Ne- 
penthes distillcitoria *, which the natives of the mountains call the king 
of plants. They believe that the water contained in its basket-like 
appendages possesses medicinal properties, and that it strengthens 
the sight. This plant grows near the roots of trees, varying much in 
size and appearance : in the latter particularly, from bearing, in what 
I conceive to be a young state, its peculiar organs without a corre- 
sponding leaf. I have seen specimens of the plant with few leaves 
and many appendages. I generally found a great number of drowned 
insects in the water of these receptacles, but could ascertain nothing 
in its taste or smell that was likely to have attracted them. The same 
circumstance is met with in Sarracenia adunea. 
In descending the mountain I was obliged to use great caution, 
as the path must always be very slippery, in consequence of the heavy 
dews which fall upon the mountain ; the thickness of the woods pre- 
preventing their evaporation. On our return it was especially so, 
as it was raining heavily during our descent. I stumbled frequently, 
and should have fallen more than once, but for the attention of 
the natives. They followed me closely, uttered a cry at every false 
step I made, and caught me by the arm whenever I was in danger. 
It is impossible to do justice to the active and emulous good-nature 
of these mountaineers, who were anxious to excel each other in 
rendering me service. During my stay on the mountain I received 
great assistance from them in all my pursuits, although they could 
not comprehend their object. They were at first much amused at 
my collecting plants familiar to their daily observation, yet vied 
with each other in gathering them for me. If I pointed to a flower 
* When in China, I received specimens of this plant from some islands in the neigh- 
bourhood of Macao, which I could not discover to be different from those gathered on 
Gunong Karang. See Note (D) in Appendix. 
F 2 
