Xll 
INTRODUCTION. 
Africa and South America, but the Malayan forests are much denser 
than in either of these countries. This forest continues approxi¬ 
mately uniform from the alluvial plains to about 3000 feet altitude, 
where the trees usually become smaller and do not attain the lofti¬ 
ness and bulk of those of the lower hills and plains, and many orders, 
such as Anonaceee, Dipterocarpacece, Myristicacece, and Aroidece, 
disappear. 
The highest mountains that have been botanically explored, and 
which are believed to be the highest in the peninsula, are Gunong 
Tahan in Pahang, 7188 feet, and Gunong Kerbau in Perak, 7160 feet. 
The upper part of the former is a large sandstone plateau bearing a 
very distinctive flora, having the closest affinities with that of Mt. 
Kinabalu in Borneo. The flora of Gunong Kerbau is typically Malay 
peninsular. There is no trace in either of these mountains of the 
Himalayan palaearctic plants so characteristic of the lofty hills of 
Java and Sumatra, but this flora appears in the Telom valley in the 
Batang Padang district at 4000 feet altitude, where occur Viola, 
Sanicula, Ophiopogon, Disporum, and several other plants of this 
flora. Such evidence as there is goes to show in this a former 
connection with Sumatra rather than directly with the Himalayas. 
Along the coast-line on the west are often extensive patches of 
mangrove swamp, the flora consisting of Rhizophoras two species, 
Bruguieras four, Carapa, and Avicennia , behind which is usually a 
patch of sand with Lumnitzera, Podocarpus, Cynometra, etc. On 
the east coast the country is more sandy and mangroves are scarce, 
only occurring in patches in the river-mouths. The characteristic 
trees here are Casuarina and Thespesia, bushes of Sccevola, and the 
porcupine grass Spinifex, with Ipomcea biloba creeping over the 
sand. 
Distribution, etc. —Some attempt has been made in this work to 
indicate the comparative abundance of the different species and 
their distribution, but it is impossible, without a much more com¬ 
plete census of the flora than is or will be practicable for many 
years, to get a real idea of the abundance or rarity of most species. 
Many trees especially, by no means rare, have been seldom collected 
on account of the rarity of their flowering or of some difficulty (such 
as their immense height) of procuring specimens. Where a plant is 
recorded from all or nearly all the States it may be considered 
common. 
It must be remembered that the parts of the peninsula which 
have been explored by any botanist are but a very small proportion 
of the whole area, and though Singapore, Malacca, Penang, and a 
good part of Selangor and Perak have been fairly well examined, 
most of the rest of the peninsula has been either explored on short 
expeditions or not visited at all. Where a species is known definitely 
to occur outside the Malay Peninsula its distribution is given, where 
no such data are given it is to be understood that so far as is known 
