Medical Officers of the Army of India.

55

   Gramineæ—continued.

      74. Apluda aristata L.; Roxb., Flor. Ind. i, 324.

          Cardamum, (Hume!).

      75. Cynodon Dactylon Pers.? Panicum Dactylon Roxb., Flor. Ind. i, 289.

          Bungaroo, (Hume). Mr. Hume refers one of the grasses he saw in Bungaroo
to this—the common Dubh. He did not collect specimens however.

      76. Eleusine ægyptiaca Pers.; Roxb., Flor. Ind. i, 344.

          Ameni, (Hume!).

      77. Eleusine Coracana Gaertn.; Roxb. Flor. Ind. i, 342?

          Anderut, (Alcock); cultivated. Dr. Alcock saw a small quantity of some
cereal crop which he did not recognise under cultivation. This is almost
certain to have been the Rhagi crop (Eleusine Coracana ).

      78. Lepturus repens R. Br.

          Bungaroo, (Hume!). This coast-grass Mr. Hume also collected at Vingorla
rocks on the western coast of India.

   Filices—

      79. Nephrodium molle Desv.; Beddome, Ferns of Brit. Ind., 277.

          Anderut, (Alcock!).

      80. Nephrolepis tuberosa Presl. N. cordifolia Bedd., Ferns, Brit. Ind. 282.

          Anderut, (Alcock!).

   Of these 80 species then, 78—or 971/2 per cent.—are Phanerogams.

   An analysis of the list shows how extensively man has influenced the com-
position of the flora.

  The following 17 species are in the strictest sense cultivated:—

Lime.

Horse-radish tree.

Tamarind.

Pomegranate.

Papaw.

Sweet potato.

Winter-cherry.

Amla (Phyllanthus Emblica ).

Castor-oil plant.

Bread-fruit tree.

Plantain.

American Aloe.

Yam.

Betel-palm.

Kachhu (Colocasia ).

The cereal crop (Rhagi? ).

Coco-nut.

Except the coco-nut palm and the castor-oil plant all of these are mani-
festly intentionally introduced, and as regards the castor-oil plant, though its
seeds have at times been found in ocean drifts, and though it is conceivable that
it may have arrived as a weed, the probabilities are greatly in favour of its
having been intentionally brought. It is largely cultivated elsewhere in India,
and is cultivated by the Laccadive Islanders also. With the coco-nut palm the
conditions are different, and the evidence, both intrinsic and extrinsic, indicates
that its appearance in the archipelago preceded that of man. Its fruits are
highly capable of ocean-distribution and form a constant feature of ocean-drifts
on tropical shores; it is one of the first species to appear on newly emerged or
unvisited tropical islands; among the Laccadives themselves it occurs on the