114 
WILLIS AND GARDINER : BOTANY 
a large clump of jessamine (Jasminum grandiflorum) in 
the centre, the rest consisting principally of a yellow 
composite (Wedelia biflora), low shrubs, and climbing beans. 
The whole west and south sides of the island, where the 
Pemphis forms a single line of timber on the top of the 
sandy beach, are slowly washing away. The same action is 
more rapid to the south-east, where fallen cocoanut palms 
strew the beach. Further north the beach is stationary 
or slightly growing out by the washing up of sand, which 
reaches its maximum in a broad blunt sandy point to the 
N.E. Pemphis gradually gives place to Scævola, with a 
clump of Tournefortia here and there, until these latter are 
alone found. At the point these shrubs have not been 
able to keep pace with the beach, and there is outside the 
line of advancing Scævola a low growth of Mariscus Drege- 
anus, Launæa pinnatifida, Eragrostis plumosa, with very 
numerous seedlings of Tournefortia, and a few plants of 
Aerua lanata. Behind, the Scævola line is very marked, 
merging in 30-40 yards into a low bash — continuous up to 
the cocoanut belt — formed almost entirely of Ochrosia 
borbonica and Morinda citrifolia, weighed down in many 
places with Gassy tha filiformis. 
The flora of Hulule, which lies very close to Malé Island 
itself, and thus in the track of trade, contains, as might be 
expected, many introduced weeds of cultivation. Apart 
from the strictly cultivated forms, it consists of 58 species, 
of which perhaps about 22 are man’s weeds and about 24 
littoral species, sea-introduced. 
Goifurfehendu (Horsburgh) Atoll."' 
The atoB consists of five islands : Goidu, Fehendu,Furudu, 
Inafuri, and Doru Kandu, the plants of which decrease in 
variety in the above order. Doru Kandu lies to the south, 
close to the outer part of the reef, and is all rocky ; it is 
* Our visit was in November, 1899, The plants were carefully col- 
lected by myself alone. So far as the small herbaceous species are 
concerned, the collection is about complete. 
