356 



Ponna s. Ponna-maram. Wieed. Mai. v. 4. p. 76. L 38. 

 Pinny-marum. Tamul. 



This grows to a fine umbrageous tree. Roots spreading 

 near the surface, going off at nearly right angles with the 

 trunk, large and strong. Stem short, thick, knotted, and in 

 old trees very rough and cracked : the hark brown, tinged 

 with green externally, internally red, and when wounded 

 much yellow juice exudes, which concretes into a green 

 transparent resin. Branches numerous and large, abounding 

 in leafy, glabrous, rounded branchlets. Leaves opposite, 

 decussate, obovato-elhptical, entire, retuse, or emarginate, 

 glabrous, of a dark shining-green above, pale beneath, 

 beautifully marked with fine close parallel veins, between each 

 pair of which, when cut, a drop of thick cream-coloured juice 

 exudes. Flowers numerous, white, and fragrant. Hacemes 

 axillary, pedicells opposite, decussate. Calyx 4-leaved, 

 leaves obovate, obtuse, concave, white, two of them smaller. 

 Corolla of four petals^ similar to the calyx in colour and 

 texture, and somewhat resembling it also in form, but larger. 

 Stamens numerous; filaments short, monadelphous at the 

 base; anthers oblong, at first orange-coloured, afterwards 

 brown. Pistil: Germen superior: Style filiform, often 

 variously bent: Stigma peltate, flat. Pericarp, a globular 

 drupe. Nut 1-seeded ; when mature, the fleshy part begins 

 to wither, and the fruit drops. 



This most beautiful tree is common all along this coast, as 

 well as in Malabar, and is used in a variety of ways. The 

 wood, which is very tough, and of a coai'se, uneven grain, is 

 much employed for ship-building; the lower part of the 

 roots forming excellent ready-made knees. The suckers, 

 (stolofies,) which are numerous and straight, and also the 

 branches possessing these qualities, are esteemed from their 

 property of being either not liable to attacks of the white 

 ants, or from their power of resisting them. From the seeds, 

 a thick dark-coloured oil, fit for burning, is procured, and their 

 withered husks ai'e carefully collected, as a cheap and useful fuel 

 in the preparation of shells for lime, the only material whence 

 that useful substance is obtained near this coast. The rejected 



