NOTES ON A JOURNEY FROM HAVERl TO KUMTA. 
5 ^^ 
ghost-like tree. A few miles further westwards is Yacombi, 47 miles 
from Kumta, with a forest guard, a dharmsalla, and a district bunga- 
low in the midst of heavy forest. In a small clearing by a tank, is a 
splendid specimen of Ficus mysorenstSf Heyne.; in the tank the yellow 
flowered Utricularia stellar is^ L.f abounds, as do Pistia stratioides^ 
Linn., and N elumhium speciosum^ Willd j the mouth of a drain was oc- 
cupied by a colony of gregarious spiders making a net of their long 
legs, and it was amusing to see the spiders' net break up and rush into 
the drain on being disturbed. Mimosa sensitiva first appeared here 
as a road-side weed, and increased greatly in quantity towards the end 
of the journey. The fences are generally made of Adhatoda vostca, 
Nees. ; but in some instances the common rose, named Edward, is 
used and it appears to grow with great vigour without special 
care. Trichosanthes palmata^ Roxb. and Entada scandens^ Benth, 
are conspicuous climbers, the latter growing up to the tops of high 
trees, then hanging down to the ground like an elegant green 
curtain. Gensing mara^^ a large Bignoniaceous tree, was in ripe 
fruit on the banks of the tank, and, near by, Fkus gibbosa^ 
Blume was abundant. In published descriptions of this small tree, 
no mention is made of the glandular punctures, irregularly disposed 
between each pair of primary veins ; those punctures are of very 
constant occurrence in Western India and appear on the youngest 
leaves, increasing in size with the development of the leaf, but they 
are not observable on dried specimens; probably those marks are due 
to insect agency, but I have not been able to prove this. The large 
epiphytal fern, Drynaria quercifolia^ Linn., begins to appear here 
and increases in numbers towards the coast, and large trees of Vitex 
altissima^ L. f. and Vitex alata^ Heyne are abundant. Here also 
Mallotus philippinensis^ MuelL, occurs, and several species of small 
leaved Ficus are of such great height that it is difficult to identify 
or get specimens of them Vitis discolor^ Dalz. is plentiful in 
company with Hemidesmus indieus, Br. (here called Dude balU) ; 
which is collected for the market. Getonia floribunda^ Roxb., 
Clematis hedysarifolia^ D.G., and Csesalpinia mim&soides^ Lam., 
and Chikakaie^^ the soap pod, are abundant. Leea sambucina, 
Willd. is one of the commonest roadside plants from this place-down 
to the coast, and Hoya retusa, Dalz. hangs in dense masses from 
the trees. Although all this part of the forest is very heavy, there is 
great variation in the size of the trees in different parts ; in one of the 
^ Stereospermum chtlonoidta, D.C. 
* Atacia cencinna, D.C. 
