2 
PLANT COLLECTIONS AND FIELD EXCURSIONS 
Mr. Corner made two tours for the purpose of studying the common 
trees in the country, in preparation for his book on the subject, with the 
object of making the book fully representative of all parts of Malaya. At the 
end of February he spent a fortnight travelling through Malacca, Negri 
Sembilan, Pahang and Selangor, to photograph specimen trees and to 
discover their local names. In July he spent a month in Kedah, Perlis, 
Penang and Upper Perak, which have mam' 1 trees not found in the south; he 
visited especially the neighbourhood of Alor Star, Arau, Baling, Penang Hill, 
Grik, Kuala Kangsar and Pangkor, studying trees at the rate of twelve 
different kinds a day for the whole month. He paid particular attention to 
local names in Kedah and Upper Perak. Many interesting discoveries, such 
as the following, resulted from this tour. The fruits of a rare Elaeocarpus 
were being sold in the market at Baling; several kinds of trees, supposed 
to occur only on the east coast of Malaya, were found to abound in the 
forest-coves of Pangkor; several species of Ficus new to the Peninsula flora 
were found to flourish on the Padang at Grik; the Tembusu was found to be 
almost unknown in Perak; a tree described by Jack more than a century 
ago and subsequently not collected nor recognised by local botanists was 
found to be a well-known village tree with the name of Sentang. The wealth 
of trees in this country is in fact so great that even the common ones are 
still imperfectly known. It is much to be hoped that Mr. Corner’s book 
when completed will form a basis on which not only the specialist but all who 
take an interest in plants may build. Mr. Corner took about 60 photographs 
of trees on these expeditions. 
Mr. Corner also undertook a short expedition in April to the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Mawai, continuing his study of the freshwater swamp forest. 
He also made numerous one-day excursions to the same district. In October 
the two Plant Collectors, Kiah and Ngadiman, spent the month collecting 
near the new Mersing Road, where trees were being felled. This district of 
Johore continues to produce many plants of great interest, successive 
collections serving to reveal still further the richness of the flora. 
In addition to herbarium specimens from this area, Mr. Corner brought 
a considerable number of interesting epiphytes and other plants for cultivation 
and study in the Botanic Gardens. Thanks are due to the Conservator of 
Forests, Johore for the assistance of a Forest Guard in the work of plant 
collecting, and to Mr. H. G. Grieve, of Tebrau, for hospitality. 
The Director visited Cameron Highlands in May, collecting chiefly in 
the areas opened up by the new road into the Telom valley. A considerable 
number of trees were found in flower and fruit. Three species of ferns were 
found for the first time in the Peninsula, field studies were made of three 
other species subsequently described as new, and a number of other ferns 
and herbaceous plants were added to the list of the Highlands flora. The 
most interesting of the herbaceous plants was Anemone sumatrana, hitherto 
only known in the Peninsula from Gunong Benom, where it was once 
collected at about 6,000 feet. It proves to be abundant beside the rivers in 
the Telom valley at about 4,000 feet above sea level. A number of ferns 
and other plants were brought to Singapore for cultivation, and some sent 
to Penang also. 
