

EXPLANATION OF PLATES 



VOL. II. PART IV. 



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632. Ficus poltcarpa (Roxb. not Jacq. F. copzosa, 

 Steud. Nom. Bot.) Arboreous: leaves obu>ng some of 

 them slightly waved, or serrulate, both sides scabrous: 

 fruit in fascicle* frpxn the trunk or woody branches* 

 JR. FL I? . 3. 666. 



Molucca**— -In the Calcutta garden, in fruit about the 

 end of the rains. . Leaves scabrous from the same sort 

 of bristles and glands as cover the bark of the young 

 parts ; furnished with a green glauti in the axils of the 



640. Ficus cordifolia (Roxb. not Blume. F. 



JRvmphii Bluing) leaves long, slender petioled, ovate- 

 cordate, acuminate, glossy : fruit paired, sessile, rouud, 



smooth, black. — R. FL Lid. o. 5 18. 



Calcutta — A large ramous spreading tree. Trunk 



11 while young, round and straight, but when old deeply 



furrowed as if composed of many coalesed trunks.'' 

 Roxb. 



nerves. 



V 



t 



641, Ficus dcemona (Roxb. K5n. Vahl) shrubby: 

 leaves, generally opposite, cuneate," oblong, and oblong 

 pointed, serrate, above scabrous, downy underneath, 

 with a green gland in the axils of the veins: fruit in 

 pairs on long radical racemes, above very hairy, of the 



size of a nutmeg.— 12. FL Ind. 3. 56*i. 



Tanjore — in sandy lauds near the sea coast. In the 



633. Ficus aspkrrima (Roxb.) leaves oval, often 

 scolloped, very scabrous : fruit axillary, paired, pedun- 

 eied, round, downy. — R. FL Ind. 3 554. — hart. Mai. 3. 

 60. 



Native of the moist valleys of Malabar and the Circars. 



A large tree— fruit downy, size of a gooseberry, when Calcutta Bot. Garden they produce fruit all the year 

 ripe, yellow. * round. 



1 A leafy branch and portion of the stem with a 



634. Ficus caeicoides (Roxb.) Sub-arboreous : radical fructiferous raceme attached— 2 a male flower 

 leaves cordate, crenate, villous : fruit axillary, solitary 3 a female one. 

 or paired, peduneied, trigonal, turbinate, wrinkled: umbi- 

 licus shut with three cordate scales : calyx from 5 to 

 6 leaved.— R. FL Ind. 3. 529. 



Lucknow. — Introduced, by General Martin, into the 

 Calcutta Botanic Garden 



1 Flowering branch — 2 a detached fruit with its 

 peduncle —3 a .single female floret detached, showing 

 the perianth, obliquely seated ovary, style, and forked 

 stigma. 



635. Ficus humtlis (Roxb.) Pirennial creeping : 

 leaves short petioled, oblong, remotely dentate-serrate, 

 harsh, obtusely acuminate : fruit paired, peuuncled,oblong, 

 with an eievated umbilicus.— it. FL Ind. 3. 535. 



Sumatra.- A small cespitose species, in fruit all the 

 year. In this species Roxburgh found only female florets. 



1 Flowering branch — 2 a seed detached from the 

 5-cleft calyx. 



636. Ficus repens (Roxb. Willd.) somewhat shrub- 

 by, creeping : leaves, obliquely cordate, lobate, serrate- 

 dentate : fruit solitary, peduneied, long obovate. — R. FL 

 Ind. 3. 53d. — 



Calcutta. 



Willd. up. 4. 1 149. 



Pasture grounds and borders of tanks. 



1 Flowering branch— 2 detached fruit. 



637^ Ficus rapiformis (Roxb.) Arboreous smooth: 

 leaves solitary and in pairs, petioled, oval, pointed, entire ; 

 a ring of scabrous specks below the insertions of the 

 stipules : fruit axillary, solitary, short petioied, turnip- 

 shaped. — R. FL Ind. 3. 55 L 



Moluccas, lu 5 years, young trees introduced into 

 the Calcutta Bot. Garden were from 10 to 20 feet high, 

 and produce fruit about the close of the rains in Sep- 

 tember and October. 



638. Ficus ofpositifolia (Roxb. Cor. PI. Willd. F. 

 hispida. Lin. til.) Leaves opposite, oblong, serrate : fruit 

 in axillary pairs, or on cauliue racemes, rouud, peduneied 

 hairy.— if. FL Ind. 3. 561. 



A small tree, native of banks and rivulets where the 

 soil is moist and rich. It or F. darnona is frequent in 

 such situations about Madras : they much resemble each 

 other, and I raav have confounded them. 



1 A leafy branch— 2 a fructiferous one with 2 racemes 

 of fruit — 3 a male flower — 4 a female one- 



nifiedL 



both mag- 



639. 



) 



alternate, cordate, crenulate: fruit on compound glome- 

 rate racemes, from the woody part of the tree below the 

 leaves.— R. FL Ind. 4. 560. "Humph, lib. Amb. 3. -J- 93, 

 Sumatra. — Trees small and in fruit most part of the 



year ■ leaves deciduous during the cold season. 



642. Ficus nitida (Roxb. Mst. Willd. ? Thunb? 



F. Benjamina ? Roxb. FL. Ind.) 



Obs. This species though figured, is omitted in the 

 Flora Indica, unless it be the plant there called F. Ben- 

 jami/ia, with the description of which it accurately cor- 

 responds, except that the leaves are said to be slightly 



3-nerved which is not shown in the figure. If this 

 surmise is correct, it may be inferred that the two plants 

 are very like each other. This figure corresponds close- 

 ly with specimens taken from a large handsome um- 

 brag< ous tree, frequent in Mysore and the Southern 

 Provinces of India, remarkable lor the immense profu- 

 sion of roots dropping from its branches, which, like 

 those of F. indict*, descend to the ground and become 

 trunks. So far as I can make out, VVillde.iow's charac- 

 ters and descriptions of both F. Benjamina and nitida are 

 equally applicable to this tree : it is probable therefore 

 his two species are but varieties of one. This opinion 

 is strengthened by the following remark of Willde- 

 now under tiie former. u F. wtidai et pertnsce valde 

 zimilis a quibus caute distinguenda.** The following are 

 his spec! : caraeters of these two species. 



u F. Benjamina (Lin.) leaves elliptic, oblong, entire, 

 narrower at tiie base, obtusely acuminate at the apex, 

 slenderly parallely veined, glabrous, marked above with 

 white dots : fruit globose subsessile. 



F. nitida (Thunb.) leaves obovate, entire, shortly and 

 obtusely acuminate, marked beneath with slender paral- 

 lel veins, shining, glabrous. 



The differences in the shape of the leaves form no 

 distinction, all the forms mentioned in both and many 

 more being found on the same tree. The white dots 

 on the leaves of Benjamina, the only remaining character, 

 being derived, not from the examination of an extensive 

 series of specimens, but from a single plant growing in 

 a hot house is surely not entitled to have so high a 

 value assigned to it, I therefore propose uniting these 



two under the older name, quoting the more recent as 

 a syuonyine thus : 



Ficus benjamina (Linn. Willd. Roxb.) Leaves oval 

 and oboTate obtuse, polished : fruit axillary paired, 



smooth. R. FL Ind. 3. 550. F. Nitida Thunb. Willd. 

 Roxb. Icon, et Mst. 



A large tree widely diffused over Southern India, 

 very umbrageous aud much used as an avenue tree. 

 Roxburgh describes the leaves as slightly 3-nerved at 

 the base : this I find is the case, though it is not 

 shown in the figure. In the lithograph copy the paral- 

 lel veins are represented too strong and rigid. 



643. Ficus scandess (Roxb.) shrubby scandent : 

 leaves short petioled, ovate entire: fruit in axillary pairs 

 round, peduneied : common calyx 3-toothed. R. FL Ind. 



3. 536. 



Silhet — a ramous climbing shrub running over small 

 trees, shrubs &c. 



1 A flowering branch— 2 a female flower— 3 a male one. 



