43 
Flora of the Ceylon Littoral. 
the remains of the withered male spikes attached to the stalks 
below, consist of a number of one-seeded obovate nuts, polygonal by 
mutual pressure, aggregated in a spherical mass as big as one’s 
head. The nuts are of a rich dark chestnut brown and are 
perfectly adapted to floating. Nipa never grows where it is 
exposed to wave action, but rather on the muddy shores of 
quiet backwaters and lagoons close to the sea (e.g. Matara and 
Ambalangodda) or on river banks at some distance from the sea. 
In these situations, however, the base of the plant may be com¬ 
pletely covered at high water. It also occurs on the mud 
flats above described, sometimes forming a pure thick jungle of 
great extent, as in Sumatra (Schimper). We did not find it in any 
such situations in Ceylon, however, where the plant is not very 
common, reaching the western limit of its distribution. We found 
it in the river at Kalutara, Bentotta (high up), and Matara and in 
Lake Madampe at Ambalangodda (abundant). 
Chrysodium (Acrostichiim) aureum (Fig. 14) is a very handsome 
striking fern, with an underground rhizome sending up simply 
generic name to the brilliant golden colour of the young pinnae. 
