I o Euphorbiacece. [Bridelia. 



3. BRZDEZiZA, Willd. 



Trees or shrubs, rarely scandcnt; fl. small, dioecious or 

 monoecious, in axillary clusters or spikes, dichlamydeous; 

 cal.-segm. 5, valvate; pet. 5, inserted on cal., very small, disk 

 conspicuous, annular in male, tubular in fem. ; stam. 5, fil. 

 united below into a column, distinct and spreading above; 

 pistillode terminating the column; ov. 2-celled with 2 ovules 

 in each cell, styles 2, forked; fr. a drupe with two i -seeded 

 pyrenes. — Sp. 30; 18 in FL B. Ind. 



Erect, leaf- veins more than 10 pair. 



Fr. globose i. B. retusa. 



Fr. ovoid, acute 2. B. MoONlI. 



Scandent, leaf-veins less than 7 pairs . . . . 3. B. scandens. 



I. B. retusa, Spreng. Syst. Ves;. iii. 48 (1826). Keta-kala, S. 

 Mul-venkai, T. 



Herm. Mus. 27. Fl. Zeyl. n. 367. Cluytia retusa, L. Sp. IM. 1042 ; 

 Thw. Enum. 279. C. P. 2 161. 



Fl. B. Ind. V. 268. Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 260. 



A small tree ; bark smooth, pale yellowish-grey ; young 

 twigs rusty-pubescent ; 1, numerous, alt., 3i-4i in., oblong- 

 oval, usually rounded at base, very obtuse or rounded at 

 apex, often emarginate, entire ; lat. veins 16-20 pair, strong, 

 parallel, uniting with a transparent marginal one, and con- 

 nected by numerous fine transverse veinlets, glabrous and 

 bright green above, whitish, with minute pubescence beneath, 

 rather thick ; petiole short, stout, finely pubescent ; stip. lan- 

 ceolate, with a broad base, very acuminate, pubescent, deci- 

 duous; fl. dioecious, on very short ped., in small dense clusters 

 on spicate or rarely branched axillary, infl. often exceeding 1. ; 

 bracts ovate, acute, deciduous ; male fl. /; in., cal.-segm. 

 narrowly triangular, acute, spreading; pet. much smaller, 

 deeply pectinate; disk thick and pulpy; fem. fl. smaller; 

 cal. as in male; pet. spathulate, acute, not pectinate, per- 

 sistent; disk truncate, enclosing ov. ; styles short; fr. seated 

 on persistent cal. and pet., over ] in., globose, slightly pulpy, 

 purplish-black, pyrenes thin. 



Moist low country, up to 2000 ft. ; common. Fl. June, July; green, 

 tinged with red, disk purjjle. 



India, Burma, Malacca. 



The leaves are minutely and beautifully reticulate beneath, with 

 minute pits in the ultimate meshes. Often mistaken for a Dipterocarp. 



Timber useful for house-building. 



