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WILLIS AND GARDINER : BOTANY 
Collections of plants were made in Wiligili, where there 
is a large village, and in Gaddu. A kind of small Pampas 
grass called Lancimo (Andropogon squarrosus, the Khus- 
khus) is grown extensively throughout the whole atoll. Its 
fibrous root has a sweet somewhat lemon-like smell, and is 
used as ornaments for the women’s hair. A kind of thyme, 
too (tulamu), is grown for the same purpose. 
Addu Atoll. 
This little atoll, situated 35 miles south of the Equator, is 
perhaps the most perfect of all I saw in the Maldives, having 
only two narrow passages to the north and two broader ones 
to the south. The encircling reef appeared from the ship to 
be covered with land, which but for the passages seemed to 
be continuous. It was really, however, broken up into 
numerous islands by channels which often could not be 
seen on account of smaller islets standing on the outer part 
of the reef behind. The islands of the east side each consist 
of sand and rock areas respectively against the lagoon and 
open sea ; these areas are separated by a series of kuli or 
fresh water lakes in the centre of the islands. On the west 
side the sea has everywhere broken into these lakes, and 
two series of islands result, rocky patches against the sea 
and larger sandy islets by the lagoon. The difference 
between the two sides is probably due to the heavier weather 
which comes up from the west. The atoll is almost beyond 
the reach of the Indian monsoons, the north-east monsoon 
bringing only a few gales from the north in January and 
February, but in the greater part of the year the westerly 
trades prevail. The rainfall, too, being probably about 
150 inches, is heavier than in any other part of the Maldives, 
and perhaps this is the cause of the exceptionally rich 
vegetation which characterizes the atoll. 
North-east of the atoll is a large island with two densely 
inhabited villages, Midu to the north and Huludu to the 
south, having between them a population of about 3,000 
