Review

It is a pleasant duty to announce a work to which all students of the Malaysian Flora, and I am sure, many others, have been looking forward for some time; the first issue of, it is hoped, a very long and continuous series which will ultimately lead to a complete flora of the Malaysian region, including British Malaya, the Philippines and New Guinea which, floristically speaking, forms a natural unit. The work, written in English under the auspices of the Royal Botanic Garden, Buitenzorg (now Bogor), Java, is the result of the painstaking efforts of its Editor-in-Chief, the well-known Buitenzorg botanist, Dr C. G. G. J. van Steenis. Generously supported by his wife in many respects, he has, and under the most difficult circumstances, indefatigably fought to get this extensive project started. Not ony he, but the Indonesian Government as well, are to be congratulated on the result of their efforts. It deserves our sincere and warm appreciation that the Government of this young country has understood its responsibilities and is backing the work with considerable interest, both morally and financially.