The angsuka, or bunga jarum-jarum (Pavetta indica), obtained from Rumphius, on account of the glowing red colour of its long calices, the name of flamma sylvarum peregrina. The bunga marak (Poinciana pulcherrima) is a most splendid flower, the colours being a mixture of yellow and scarlet, and its form being supposed to resemble the crest of the peacock, from whence its Malayan name, which Rumphius translated. The nagasari (Calophyllum nagassari) bears a much admired blossom, well known in Bengal; but in the upper parts of India, called nagakehsir, and in the Batavian Transactions Acacia aurea. The bakong, or salandap (Crinum asiaticum), is a plant of the lily kind, with six large, white, turbinated petals of an agreeable scent. It grows wild near the beach amongst those plants which bind the loose sands. Another and beautiful species of the bakong has a deep shade of purple mixed with the white. The kachubong (Datura metel) appears also to flourish mostly by the seaside. It bears a white infundibuliform flower, rather pentagonal than round, with a small hook at each angle. The leaves are dark green, pointed, broad and unequal at the bottom. The fruit is shaped like an apple, very prickly, and full of small seeds. Sundal malam or harlot of the night (Polyanthes tuberosa) is so termed from the circumstance of its diffusing its sweet odours at that season. It is the tuberose of our gardens, but growing with great vigour and luxuriance. The bunga mawur (Rosa semperflorens, Curtis, Number 284), is small and of a deep crimson colour. Its scent is delicate and by no means so rich as that yielded by the roses of our climate. The Amaranthus cristatus (Celosia castrensis, L.) is probably a native, being found commonly in the interior of the Batta country, where strangers have rarely penetrated. The various species of this genus are called by the general name of bayam, of which some are edible, as before observed.
PANDAN.
Of the pandan (pandanus), a shrub with very long prickly leaves, like those of the pineapple or aloe, there are many varieties, of which some are highly fragrant, particularly the pandan wangi (Pandanus odoratissima, L.), which produces a brownish white spath or blossom, one or two feet in length. This the natives shred fine and wear about their persons. The pandan pudak, or keura of Thunberg, which is also fragrant, I have reason to believe the same as the wangi. The common sort is employed for hedging and called caldera by Europeans in many parts of India. In the Nicobar islands it is cultivated and yields a fruit called the melori, which is one of the principle articles of food.
EPIDENDRA.
Bunga anggrek (epidendrum). The species or varieties of this remarkable tribe of parasitical plants are very numerous, and may be said to exhibit a variety of loveliness. Kaempfer describes two kinds by the names of angurek warna and katong'ging; the first of which I apprehend to be the anggrek bunga putri (Angraecum scriptum, R.) and the other the anggrek kasturi (Angraecum moschatum, R.) or scorpion-flower, from its resembling that insect, as the former does the butterfly. The musky scent resides at the extremity of the tail.*
(*Footnote. Habetur haec planta apud Javanos in deliciis et magno studio colitur; tum ob floris eximium odorem, quem spirat, moschi, tum ob singularem elegantiam et figuram scorpionis, quam exhibet...spectaculo sane jocundissimo, ut negem quicquam elegantius et admiratione dignius in regno vegetabili me vidisse...Odorem flos moschi exquisitissimum atque adeo copiosum spargit, ut unicus stylus floridus totum conclave impleat. Qui vero odor, quod maxi me mireris, in extrema parte petali caudam referentis, residet; qua abicissa, omnis cessat odoris expiratio. Amoen exoticae, page 868.)
WATER-LILIES, ETC.
The bunga tarati or seruja (Nymphaea nelumbo) as well as several other beautiful kinds of aquatic plants are found upon the inland waters of this country. Daun gundi or tabung bru (Nepenthes destillatoria) can scarcely be termed a flower, but is a very extraordinary climbing plant. From the extremity of the leaf a prolongation of the mid-rib, resembling the tendril of a vine, terminates in a membrane formed like a tankard with the lid or valve half opened; and growing always nearly erect, it is commonly half full of pure water from the rain or dews. This monkey-cup (as the Malayan name implies) is about four or five inches long and an inch in diameter. Giring landak (Crotalaria retusa) is a papilionaceous flower resembling the lupin, yellow, and tinged at the extremities with red. From the rattling of its seed in the pod it obtains its name, which signifies porcupine-bells, alluding to the small bells worn about the ankles of children. The daup (bauhinia) is a small, white, semiflosculous flower, with a faint smell. The leaves alone attract notice, being double, as if united by a hinge, and this peculiarity suggested the Linnean name, which was given in compliment to two brothers of the name of Bauhin, celebrated botanists, who always worked conjointly.
To the foregoing list, in every respect imperfect, many interesting plants might be added by an attentive and qualified observer. The natives themselves have a degree of botanical knowledge that surprises Europeans. They are in general, and at a very early age, acquainted not only with the names, but the properties of every shrub and herb amongst that exuberant variety with which the island is clothed. They distinguish the sexes of many plants and trees, and divide several of the genera into as many species as our professors. Of the paku or fern I have had specimens brought to me of twelve sorts, which they told me were not the whole, and to each they gave a distinct name.
MEDICINAL HERBS.