52 Euphorbiacece. {Ostodcs. 



narrow, erect, stiff, spicate racemes, male on slender ped. in 

 small clusters, fem. solitary on very stout ped. and somewhat 

 larger; sep. oblong^, subacute, pubescent, with a short hori- 

 zontal horn near the end; pet. oblong (narrower in male), 

 acute, nearly twice as long as sep.; styles broad, recurved; 

 capsule \ in., 3-lobed, depressed, thickly crustaceous, roughly 

 pubescent, top depressed. 



Intermediate region ; rare. Between .Medamahanuwara and Bin- 

 tenne ; Pinvakpitiya, Matale East, abundant. Fl. Feb.-June ; dull 

 crimson. 



Also in Travancore. 



Codiceum 7uiriei^a/uiii, BI. The ' Croton ' of gardens, native to the 

 Moluccas and Pacific Islands, has long been cultivated under numerous 

 varieties, and is very common in gardens in the low country. The oldest 

 form here seems to be crispion^ which was collected in Ceylon by 

 Thunberg in 1777. 



23. OSTOSES, Bl. 



A large tree; 1. large, serrate; fl. dioecious, in long pendu- 

 lous racemes; male fl. : — sep. 5, unequal, imbricate; pet. 5, 

 longer than sep.; disk of 5 glands; stam. 15, fil. free, outer 

 ones shorter; pistillode o; fem. fl.: — sep. and pet. as in male; 

 disk annular, hairy; ov. 3-celled, with one ovule in each cell, 

 styles 3, bifid; fr. a subglobose capsule, cocci 3, bony, de- 

 hiscent ; seeds ovoid, testa crustaceous, endosperm flesh}-, 

 cotyledon broad, flat. — Sp. 6-8 ; 5 in Fl. B. Ind., but none in 

 Peninsular India. 



O. zeylanica, Muell. Arg. in Limicra, xxxiv. 214 (1865). Wal- 

 k^kuna, Olupetta, S. 



Desiiiosfei/ion seylanicus, Thw. Enum. 278. Muell. Arg. in DC. Prod. 

 1. c. 1 114. C. P. 2160. 



Fl. B. Ind. V. 409. Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 274 (reprod. from Trans. Linn. 

 Soc. XXV. t. 27). 



A tall tree ; bark smooth ; young parts puberulous ; 

 branches minutely lenticellate; 1. large, numerous, persistent, 

 6-12 in., lanceolate-oblong, acute at base, subacute at apex, 

 very coarsely serrate, glabrous, thick, paler beneath; petiole 

 3-4 in., cylindrical, stiff, horizontal, thickened and corky at 

 both ends; fl. rather large, stalked, in small clusters, panicles 

 1-2 ft. long; bracts very small; sep. obtuse ; pet. obtuse, erect, 

 recurved at apex; stam. slightly exscrted; capsule i^ in., 

 slightly 6-groovcd, finely tomentose with close stellate hair; 

 seeds large, mottled. 



