Phyllant/ms.'] EupkovbiaceCE. 1 9 



with white along midrib and lat, veins, glabrous ; slip, acicular; 

 fl. very small, on long very slender ped., male in small clusters, 

 fem. solitary; bracts fimbriate; sep. rounded; stam. 5, fil. 

 connate half way; styles deeply bifid, spreading; fr. a dry 

 capsule, very small, on long filiform stalk, glabrous. 



Dry region ; rare (?). Matale East ; Bibile ; Mineri ; Anuradhapura. 

 Fl. March-June; pale green. 



Endemic. 



The very much smaller size of the leaves on the ultimate twigs than 

 those on the older branches gives a singular character to this little 

 shrub. The leaves are sometimes mottled with white in the centre. 



2. P. reticulatus, Poit: Enc. Meth. v. 298 (1804). Wel-kayila, 

 5. Pula, Pullanti, Blipullanti, T. 



Burm. Thes. 198. Zisyphus lineatus^ Willd. Sp. PI. i. 1102; Moon, 

 Cat. 17. P. midtiflorus, Willd. ; Moon, Cat. 65. P. microcarpiis^ Muell. 

 Arg. I.e. 343. Kirganelia* midtiflora, Baill. ; Thw. Enum. 282. C. P. 

 2142, 327, 2947. 



Fl. B. Ind. V. 288. Burm. Thes. t. 88. Wight, Ic. t. 1899 {Anisonema 

 inultifloriini). 



A shrub, 8-10 ft.; branches lenticellate ; shoots finely 

 pubescent or glabrous; 1. \-\\ in., on short petiole, variable, 

 lanceolate or oblong-oval or nearly rotundate, obtuse or acute, 

 rather thin, glabrous or slightly pubescent, somewhat paler 

 beneath ; stip. small, subulate, persistent ; male fl, in clusters 

 of 2-6 ; sep. very obtuse ; stam, 5, the 3 inner fil. connate into 

 a short column, the 2 outer free, shorter ; fem. fl. solitary, sep. 

 very obtuse, persistent; ov. 4-5 -celled, stigmas very small; 

 fr. about \ in., fleshy, depressed-globose, smooth and shining, 

 purplish-black ; seeds usually 10, 2 superposed in each cell. 



Low country ; very common in the dry region, rarer in the moist one. 

 Fl. all the year ; pink. 



India, Malaya, Trop. Africa, China. 



Burmann's figure is very good for the pubescent variety, which is the 

 more frequent in the moist districts. The glabrous form (var. glabra, 

 Thw.) has sometimes smaller fruit when it is P. microcarpiis, Muell. Arg. 



The little berries are purplish-black, and are sweetish to the taste. 

 Affords a styptic gum. Plant also used medicinally as a diuretic. The 

 twigs are used for tooth-brushes at Mannar. 



^. P. Emblica,! L. Sp. PL 982 (1753). Nelll, S. Toppi- 

 nelli, T. 



Moon, Cat. 65. Thw. Enum. 282. C. P. 2144. 



Fl. B. Ind. V. 289. Wight, Ic, t. 1896 {Emblica officinalis). Bedd. 

 Fl. Sylv. t. 258. 



* Kirganelia, from Kirganeli, the Malabar name of P. Niruri as 

 given by Rheede in Hort. Mai. x. 29. 



t The fruit is the Emblic or Embelic myrobalan of the old phar- 

 macists. 



