OP THE MALDIVE ISLANDS. 
121 
atoll are nearly all densely covered with large cocoanut 
trees, as are also some of the western islands, but many of 
the latter have only low trees and shrubs. The inner islands 
are, as a rule, covered with low trees and bushes, Heebahdu 
to the north with very large Barringtonia speciosa ; cocoa- 
nuts if present on these islands are of small size and 
scattered. A few plantains and food plants are found in 
every island, but they do not grow at all luxuriantly; the 
former are now planted in pits in the ground dug to below 
high tide level, and in Kondai I saw a man put in a basket 
of pumice from the beach ; this appeared on inquiry to be a 
regular custom of the island. A little grain is stated to have 
formerly been cultivated, but the people seem to have been 
for all time famous as daring navigators, and to have lived 
for the most part on rice obtained from India in exchange 
for cocoanuts, mats, and fish. Many of the islands of the 
outer reef hâve swamps overgrown completely or fringed 
with Kuna grass (Pycreus), used for their great industry of 
mat-making. 
Wiligili has one such swamp now almost dry, covered 
with kuna, with Leucas biflora growing on the roots of the 
trees and on any drier spots. A clump of Nephrolepis exal- 
tata and Thamnopteris Nidus also occur here. Round this 
the jungle is very thick and dense, the larger trees -consist- 
ing for the most part of Cordia subcordata and Terminalia 
Catappa, the undergrowth being composed almost entirely 
of Ardisia humilis, with here and there a bush of Rhizo- 
phora mucronata and Lumnitzera racemosa ; in certain 
places one sees a bush of Hibiscus tiliaceus and occasionally 
a giant cocoanut or Pandanus. The paths are fringed by 
Oplismenus compositus, and near the village Pancratium 
zeylanicum is very common. 
On sandy islets the most striking feature compared to 
other atolls is the dominance of the Pandani to the detri- 
ment of Scævola and Tournef ortia ; Pemphis, too, is not 
abundant. 
