22 i 
of Ficus and Bassia. A plant brought from Mergui, and said to be 
one from which gutta is obtained there, is now growing in the 
Penang Garden, and is undoubtedly a Ficus, but too young for 
specific determination. What is collected in the Langkawi Islands 
and known as " gutta minjato” is obtained from a species of Bas- 
sia of which better material is needed before it can be correctly 
determined. For some time it was supposed that gutta percha 
was obtained from one tree only which has been described under 
the three generic names of Isonandra, Dichopsis, and Palaquim, 
This does not as some persons think represent any doubt or con- 
fusion as regards this particular tree, and the explanation is simple. 
It was orginally described as an Isonandra and subsequently found 
not to agree in certain characters with that genus; consequently a 
new genus, Dichopsis, was created. Later it was fouud that the 
characters of Diclu psis were identically those of Palaquim which, 
being of older date, takes precedence according to botanical eti- 
quette. We now know' that there are several species of Palaquim 
that yield good gulta percha, though perhaps none of them are 
equal to P. gutta and P. oblongifolium ; the latter being considered 
by some botanists as merely a variety of the former ; but much re- 
mains to be done in the matter of determining the species and 
varieties of this genus, and adequate material in the form of flowers 
and fruits are rarely obtainable. In the Waterfall Valley, Penang, 
there are two trees growing side by side and w r hich until they 
fruited last year were thought to be both the same kind. One has 
rounder and deeper coloured fruits than the other and is now 
thought to be an undescribed species, the other being the true Pala- 
quim gutta; but whether the distinction is sufficient to warrant its 
being'considered anything more than a variety of Palaquim gutta 
I am extremely doubtful. An analysis of the gutta gives almost 
exactly the same result, both being of a very high class. Gutta 
Sundek, which is a Payena and not a Palaquim, also yields good 
gutta percha. T he inferior kinds are mostly obtained from trees 
belonging to the same order (Sapotacese) as Palaquim gutta; P, 
obovata being one, which is known in Malacca as “Niato Bunga” 
and “Niato Balam. ” Some of the Bassias, and as already mentioned, 
one or more Ficus, produce an inferior article. Malay names 
for gutta percha trees vary in different localities and as a means 
of identifying species are unreliable. As a guide to the identifica- 
tion of genera and Natural Orders, however, they are sometimes 
helpful and I have not found that they apply the name “ taban ” 
to other than species of Palaquium ; although at Indrageri in Su- 
matra where the name for Palaquium is Balam, and not “taban”, 
Payena Leerii is known as “ Balam Sundek Palaquium gutta 
is generally knowui as “Taban me rah in the peninsula, “balam 
merah ” in Sumatra, and “Ekor” or “Ekor dhaun durian ” in Pe- 
nang Other species or varieties of Palaquium, having somewhat 
similar leaves, are “taban sutra”, “Taban putih”, “taban chair’ , 
and “taban etam” (S. Ujong). “Balam putih” in Sumatra is not 
the same species as taban putih in Pefak. Reliable information as 
to the rate of growth and amount of gutta to be obtained from 
