OF THE MALDTVE ISLANDS. 
149 
chiefly’ South Malayan) and even perhaps in the North 
Malayan types. If we examine the actual statistics of the 
distribution of the flora of the islands, we shall find them in 
pretty fair general accordance with these views. It would 
lead too far to go into the details of the littoral sea-borne 
flora of the Seychelles in this paper, but in general it is of 
the Malayan type, especially the southern type, with a 
sprinkling of other forms."" 
Of the 43 species enumerated above, Afzelia bijuga and 
Hernandia ovigera are found only in Diego Garcia ; both of 
these are Seychellen plants, and the former at any rate also 
Malayan. Of the whole number, 20 are Polynesian, 34 or 
more occur in the Malay Archipelago, 36 in the Malay 
Peninsula ; of the last-named, 25 also reach the coasts of 
Burmah ; 30 occur on the Malabar, 29 on the Coromandel 
Coasts of the Indian Peninsula, while 36 occur in Ceylon, 
many of them only on the southern coasts ; the Maldives 
have 39, Minikoi 29, the Laccadives 22 ; 32 or perhaps 34 
occur in the Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mascarene Islands, 
14 in Diego Garcia. 
All the Diego Garcia species occur in the African Islands, 
and all, except perhaps Hernandia ovigera, are Malayan ; 
there is no difficulty in accounting for the origin of the flora 
on the views given above as to the distribution of plants by 
the currents and winds. Turning to the Maldives, and 
dividing the group as before into South, Central, and 
North Maldives, we have in each of these about 37 species, 
and in the whole Archipelago 39. The species peculiar to 
the South Maldives are Agyneia baceiformis. Pancratium 
zeylanicum, and perhaps Lumnitzera racemosa, the first oc- 
curring in the African Islands, Malay Peninsula, and Ceylon, 
^ I find in my notes that I saw three Ceylon or Malay outrig-ger boats 
cast np, one buoy, and one Malay pran. I also passed a catamaran when 
going’ down in October, about 30 miles east of Fadiffolu Atoll. — J. S. G-. 
The well known double cocoanut or Coco-de-mer of the Seychelles was 
formerly called Cocos maldivica, its^f ruits being' so frequently cast ashore in 
the Maldives. 
