nobilis of Tenasserim ; but the Malayan Saraca thaipin- 
gensis holds its own against both^ not quite in grace, but in 
the intensity of colour which it exhibits when in flower. 
The purple shades of its new foliage, also, are striking ; 
but this tropical phenomenon of such a colour in young 
leaves is possibly better illustrated by a tree of Bouea 
microphylla close to the Lower Ring Road. 
The shapely trees down hill from the road are the 
Tembusu, Cyrtophyllum peregrinum. Its durable timber 
often serves the Malays for the head-posts and foot-posts 
of their graves. 
There is a fine clump of the giant orchid, Gramma- 
tophyllum speciosum, near the Amherstia. Certain economic 
trees are grouped opposite the Saraca, It is here that a 
visitor will find the Henna tree, Lawsonia albUf the 
Nutmeg, Myristica fragrans, the Cinnamon, Cmnamomum 
zeylamcum, and here is a tree of Cinnamomum Deschampsiif 
which has a bark scented like Cassia bark ; but it has vile 
smelling flowers. The palm, with enormous leaves, is the 
Bornean Corypha gebanga, of which more will be said 
under the heading Palm Valley,** 
The eastern half of the Office Ring Road may be said to 
begin with the junction of a path from the foot of the Lake, 
At this point stands a tree of Michelia Champaca, On the 
Lawn, which is below the road, the visitor sees from another 
point of view the beautiful Casuarinas, which have been 
mentioned on p. ir, and the Araucarias. A fine Copal tree 
is close to the road, its spread much greater than its 
height. The Zanzibar copal tree, T rachylobium verrucosuirit 
is a native of east Africa, and the largest mart for the 
export of its resin is Zanzibar. The resin dug from the 
soil, that is from trees long dead, is harder and more 
26 — 
