528 Dr. Francis Hamilton's Commentary 



the most common Indian trees. Why he called it a Tropins I 

 cannot say, except that its bark, like that of the Tropins ameri- 

 cana, is used for cleaning the teeth ; for its fructification differs 

 much from that of the Trophis americana as described by Lin- 

 naeus. T>r. Roxburgh from Koenig himself knew the tree which 

 was called Trophis aspera, and was satisfied that it was the Tinda 

 Parua, as indeed must be evident to every person who compares 

 the tree with Kcenig's account published by Retzius. Whether 

 or not Koenig was aware of the circumstance, I know not; but 

 many botanists continue to describe the Tropins aspera as if it 

 were a different plant from the Morus indica; nor does Willdenow 

 seem to doubt of its being a Trophis, although this is by no means 

 supported by his description taken from Koenig, and which, so 

 far as it goes, is correct. I do not know on what authority the 

 fruit of the Trophis aspera is stated in the Encyclopedic (viii. 125.) 

 to have two cells ; but, were this correct, the compiler might 

 naturally enough have thought that it should have been joined 

 with the Streblus of Loureiro, which Vahl, perhaps the author of 

 this mistake, has been pleased to call Achymus, a genus not even 

 of the same natural order with the Tropins, nor with even the 

 Tinda Parua ; for this also is no doubt one of the Urticce, as the 

 following account will show. 



Arbor rigida, cortice cinereo lsevi, ramulis intertextis, hispiclis, 

 parcius lactescentibus. Folia alterna, subbifaria, rigida, sub- 

 sessilia, elliptica, basi obtusiora, emarginata, apice acumi- 

 nata, hispida, costata, venis reticulata, serraturis obtusis 

 incisa. Stipules geminae, laterales, caducae. 



Masculina arbor. Pedunculus brevis, geminatus vel fascicula- 

 tus, axillaris, ebracteatus, terminatus involucro penta- vel 

 hexa-phyllo, flores nonnullos (5—8) in capitulum subrotun- 

 dum colligente. Calyx quadripartitus, reflexus. Filamenta 



quatuor, 



