266 BURMA, ITS PEOPLE ASD PRODUCTIONS. 



This, observes Kurz, is the Lan-rheea of tlie Assamese, Avliicli yields tlie fibre of 

 CKina-grass-cloth. 



0. snvATicA, Miq. Martaban at 2000 feet. 



Leaves peimiuerved, crenate-serrate. 



MoKocAEPUS, Sicbold and Zuccarini. 



Flotvers moncEcious and dioecious. Male perianth 4-partite, rarely 2-partito. 

 Stamens as many as perianth lobes. Ovary -rudiment present. Female perianth 

 ventricose-tubular, 4-toothed at the contracted mouth, adnate to the ovary. Fruit 

 berry-like. Stigma penicellate-capitate, persistent in fruit. 



M. (Debeegeasia) loxgifolia, AVedd. var. a Ava and Pegu. var. /i Chittagong. 



Pwot-shor-pen (Kurz). 



Branchlets pubescent. Leaves lanceolate. var. ji latifolius. Leaves ovate. 



M. ^'allichlunts, Miq. The Pegu Eange at 1000 to 2000 feet. 



Branchlets robust and smooth. Leaves ovate. 

 The ' liber ' of both species yields good cordage. 



Maoutia, Wedd. 



Floivers monoecious or dioecious. Perianth in males 5-parted, in females none. 

 Stamens 5. Oiartj with a solitary, nearly erect ovule. Achene ovate, com])ressed and 

 sometimes bluntly 3-gouous. Albumen thin. Shrul)S with alternate serrulate leaves. 



M. PCTA, Wedd. Martaban at 2500 to 5000 feet. 



Leaves 4-fi inches long, ovate, acuminate, coarsely serrate, membranous, very 

 rough above, beneath white-toracntose. Kurz describes this shrub as yielding a 

 strong fibre resembling the rheea. 



CoNOCErnALus, Blume. 



Flowers dioecious. Male perianth turbinate, tuTiular, 4- (rarely 2-)cleft. Stamens 

 as many as perianth lobes, filaments complanate. Anthers short, 2-celled, cells opening 

 longitudinally. Orari/-rudimenf present. Female perianth tubular, 4-cleft. Oianj 

 free, with a solitary ovule. Style terminal, very short. Stiffi/ias 1 -sided or capitate, 

 oblique. Fruit covered liy the persistent perianth, chartaceous, dehiscing longitudinally 

 into 2 valves. Scandent shrubs, with alternate, long-petioled, simple leaves. 



C. suAVEOLExs, Bl. F.S.S. Tree forests of Chittagong, Pegu and Tenasserim. 



Flowers small, yellow, fragrant, in dense globular heads. 



The last thirteen genera form the sub- order of Urtieiea, or nettle tribe, some of 

 which are remarkable for their stinging powers, and others for the excellence and 

 tenacity of their fibre. Foremost among the stinging nettles is Laportea crenulata, of 

 Northern India and Burma, which at certain seasons is so acrid that the effluvium 

 from its bruised leaves and stalks will cause a copious discharge of water and mucus 

 from the mouth, nose, and eyes, the effect lasting some hours, whilst the pain caused 

 by its stinging hairs induces fever. In spite, however, of the stinging powers of the 

 full-grown plant, many nettles when young make a wholesome vegetable when boiled 

 like spinach, and an infusion of nettles is consi<lered a wholesome drink in early 

 spring. The great value, however, of plants of this tribe lies in the strength of their 

 fibre, and the word itself is derived' from the root '?;«' (Nere, veciv, to spin), as the 

 (jcrmanic nations, and the Scotch down to the seventeenth century, used its fibres 

 for weaving cloth fi'om, till its use became superseded by flax and hemp. 



Order MORE^. 



Flowers diclinous, minute, often on an open or closed receptacle. Ferianth 

 tubular or 3- or 4-partite, or none. Stamens as in Urticece, but filaments sometimes 



1 rojmhir Kames of British Tlant-s, by E. C. A. rrior, p. 167. 



