VEGETATION OF CEYLON. 
255 
is so great and complicated that it has hitherto 
been difficult to assign its place to every 
plant, especially as many have not come under 
the eye of the botanist, but are known only 
by their native appellations. If glittering 
hues, elegant flowers, abundant florescence, 
and wild profusion, constitute beauty, there is 
sufl&cient of it to please the eye of the tra- 
veller in Ceylon. 
Of the seventh class, Heptandria, we find 
only four in the native list. 
Of the eighth class, Octandria, there are 
about thirty-five, of which two are medicinal 
evergreen trees, the one twenty, and the other 
thirty feet high. 
Of the ninth class, Eniieandria, we reckon 
seven plants. 
Of the tenth class, Decandria, there are 
between seventy and eighty. Among them is 
an evergreen plant (Gomphia zeylanicd), four 
feet in height, with bright yellow flowers. The 
satin wood, included in this list, is found 
chiefly in the eastern province. In appear- 
ance its trunk is similar to that of the teak. 
The wood is much used for ornamental pur- 
poses. It is of a beautiful colour, rather 
yellow, and takes a fine polish. 
Of the eleventh class, Dodecandria, there 
are some thirty, the most remarkable among 
which is the Kokatiya, an aquatic perennial, 
with white flowers. 
Of the twelfth, class, Icosandria, we count 
about seven or eight-and-twenty. 
Of the thirteenth class, Polyandria, there 
are nearly forty : remarkable among which are 
three varieties of lotus, known by the name 
of -^tolu by the natives. The leaves are of a 
deep rose-colour; the roots are eaten, and the 
seeds chewed by children. There is also an 
ornamental, evergreen tree, twenty feet high, 
with flowers of a bright golden colour. 
Of the fourteenth class, Didynamia, we find 
as many as seventy, of which some have not 
been examined botanically, and placed under 
their exact headings. 
Of the fifteenth class, Tetradynamia, there 
are but four. 
Of the sixteenth class, 3Ionadelphla, there 
are fifty, among which we may mention an 
evergreen shrub, eight feet high, with pale 
red flowers {Omphalobium indictivi) ; as also 
a perennial trailer, with orange-coloured blos- 
soms ; and a curious annual with bright 
yellow flowers. 
Of the seventeenth class, Dladelphia, there 
are about sixty, among which the JDesmodium 
capitatum, a shrub with rich purple flowers, 
is distinguished by its rare beauty. 
Of the nineteenth class, Syngenesia, there 
are nearly thirty. 
Of the twentieth class there are thirteen, 
of which the only particular one is a luxuriant- 
growing parasite, with green flowers, which 
trails over the ground, up the trunks of trees, 
or winds among the branches and foliage of 
stronger plants. 
Of the twenty-first class, Monoecia, there 
are about a hundred, among which are 
several ornamental plants, of great size, such 
as the Stillingia popidnea, fourteen feet high, 
with yellow flowers, very handsome. 
Of the twenty-second class, Dioecia, we find 
some seventy. 
Of the twenty-third class, Polygaviia, there 
are about foi'ty-five ; and of the twenty-fourth, 
about forty-seven, among which is included a 
very beautiful kind of fern, of a distinct 
species. 
An old writer, in describing Ceylon, says 
that the flowering shrubs, with which the 
whole island is covered, send forth a most 
delightful fragrance with the first breath of the 
morning and the breezes of evening. This 
language, though somewhat poetical, conveys 
nothing more than the truth ; for from the 
eastern to the western extremity of Ceylon, a 
constant succession of land covered with vege- 
tation meets the eye, whilst the odour of 
flowers, and that still sweeter fragrance of 
harvests, cinnamon gardens, and coflee planta- 
tions, mingles with those light gales which 
constantly breathe over the island from the 
mountains or the sea. But it is the hand of 
nature which is chiefly discernible in the 
adornment of Ceylon, for gardening and the 
cultivation of ornamental plants is scarcely 
known among the Singhalese as a specific 
branch of industry. They adorn the ground 
immediately surrounding their houses with 
picturesque clusters of palm and fruit trees, 
whose luxuriance shades and imparts beauty 
to the spot. Flowering shrubs are also planted 
about their temples and other sacred places; 
and these are attended with considei'able care, 
whilst much interest is shown in their flourish- 
ing. They also cultivate a few vegetables, such 
as yams, sweet potatoes, and onions, in their 
fields ; but the occupation is far from a national 
one. Plots of ground, enclosed and prepared 
for this particular purpose, after the English 
manner, are indeed almost unknown, except 
in those few localities where English manners, 
habits, practices, and tastes, have begun to 
take root in the soil of that magnificent island. 
Perhaps a slight description of the cofiee- 
grounds, which form one among the greatest 
beauties, and the valuable features of the 
island, viewed in an ornamental point of view, 
may not be uninteresting. The plant was 
first introduced from Java, where it was 
planted in 1723, by Zwaardenkroom, who pro- 
cured the seeds from Mocha. It was once 
most commonly propagated through the agency 
of birds and jackals, who ate the fruit : but 
