[Footnote 1:  The prolific vegetation of the island is likely to cause exaggeration in the estimate of its variety.  Dr. Gardner, shortly after his appointment as superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Kandy, in writing to Sir W. Hooker, conjectured that the Ceylon flora might extend to 4000 or 5000 species.  But from a recent Report of the present curator, Mr. Thwaites, it appears that the indigenous phaenogamic plants discovered up to August, 1856, was 2670; of which 2025 were dicotyledonous, and 644 monocotyledonous flowering plants, besides 247 ferns and lycopods.  When it is considered that this is nearly double the indigenous flora of England, and little under one thirtieth of the entire number of plants hitherto described over the world, the botanical richness of Ceylon, in proportion to its area, must be regarded as equal to that of any portion of the globe.]

Up to the present time the botany of Ceylon has been imperfectly submitted to scientific scrutiny.  Linnaeus, in 1747, prepared his Flora Zeylanica, from specimens collected by Hermann, which had previously constituted the materials of the Thesaurus Zeylanicus of Burman and now form part of the herbarium in the British Museum.  A succession of industrious explorers have been since engaged in following up the investigation[1]; but, with the exception of an imperfect and unsatisfactory catalogue by Moon, no enumeration of Ceylon plants has yet been published.  Dr. Gardner had made some progress with a Singhalese Flora, when his death took place in 1849, an event which threw the task on other hands, and has postponed its completion for years.[2]

[Footnote 1:  Amongst the collections of Ceylon plants deposited in the Hookerian Herbarium, are those made by General and Mrs. Walker, by Major Champion (who left the island in 1848), and by Mr. Thwaites, who succeeded Dr. Gardner in charge of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kandy.  Moon, who had previously held that appointment, left extensive collections in the herbarium at Peradenia which have been lately increased by his successors; and Macrae, who was employed by the Horticultural Society of London, has enriched their museum with Ceylon plants.  Some admirable letters of Mrs. Walker are printed in HOOKER’S Companion to the Botanical Magazine.  They include an excellent account of the vegetation of Ceylon.]

[Footnote 2:  Dr. Gardner, in 1848, drew up a short paper containing Some Remarks on the Flora of Ceylon, which was printed in the appendix to LEE’S Translation of Ribeyro:  to this essay, and to his personal communications during frequent journeys, I am indebted for many facts incorporated in the following pages.]