LXXTIII. EBENACE.E. 99 



Corolla urceolate, clotbed outside with black velvety 



hairs 7. D. j^ttnicidata. 



Male flowers in shoi-t cymes. 

 Corolla tubular. 



Fruiting calyx with internal elevated rim at top 



of its tube 8. B. Ehcnum. 



Corolla urceolate or caiiipanulate ; stamens 8-22. 



Anthers dehiscing by apical pores 9. D. microTphylla. 



Anthers dehiscing by longitudinal .slits 



Small or middle-sized trees, often spinescent. 



Male calyx glabrous outside; staminodes 4 ... 10. D. montana. 

 Male calyx hairy outside. 



Male calyx pubescent inside; staminodes 



12 11. B. conUfolia. 



M.ale calyx glabrous inside; staminodes 



7-9 12. B. Chloroxtjlon. 



Corolla ovoid or oblong, shortly lobed ; stamens 40 



or more. Tree, not spinescent 13. B. emb?yo2}(eris. 



I. Diospyros Melanoxylon, lioxb. Cor. PL v. 1 (1795) p. 36, 

 t. 46. A middle-sized deciduous tree recaching 50 ft. in height ; bark 

 dark-grey or black, exfohating in rectangular scales ; young parts and 

 inflorescence clothed with grey or lawny tomentum. Leaves 2^-Q by 

 1-2| in., alternate or subopposi^e, coriaceous, elliptic or elhptic-oblong, 

 obtuse or subacute, softly tawny-tomeutose on both sides when young, 

 glabrous above and pubescent beneath when mature, base usually acute, 

 rarely rounded; main nerves 6-10 pairs with reticulate veins between; 

 petioles 1-g in. long. Male flowers 4-6-merous, 3-12 together, in 

 tawny-tomentose panicled drooping cymes longer than the petioles. 

 Calyx; campanulate, ^-\ in. long, hairy on both sides ; lobes 4-6, shorter 

 than the tube, subacute. Corolla more or less tubular, about twice as 

 long as the calyx, pubescent outside, glabrous inside; lobes 4-6, broadly 

 ovate, acute, about g in. long. Stamens 12-16 (in pairs when 16) ; 

 anthers linear-oblong, acumiuate. Female flowers rather longer than 

 the male, solitary, subsessile, 4-5-merous. Calyx hairy on both sides, 

 4-5-gonal. Corolla as in the male. Staminodes 8-10. Ovary densely 

 hairy, 4-8-celled; ovule solitary in each cell; styles 2, bifid. Fruit 

 yellow when ripe, ovoid or globose, 1-1-|- in. long ; fruiting calyx thickly 

 coriaceous, nearly flat, the lobes undulate, often with reflexed margins. 

 Seeds 2-8, compressed, oblong; testa rugose, shining; albumen rumi- 

 nate. Fl. B. I. V. 3, p. 564; Hiern, Monogr. Eben. (1873) p. 159; 

 Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 3, p. 99 ; Talb. Trees, Bomb. ed. 2, p. 212 ; Watt, 

 Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 3, p. 147. Diospyros Tupru, Buch.-llam. in Trans. 

 Linn. Soc. v. 15 (1827) p. Ill ; Hiern, Afonogr. Eben. (1873) p. 158 ; 

 C. B. Clarke, in Hook. f. Fl. B. I. v. 3, p. 563 ; AVoodr. in Journ. 

 Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1898) p. 164. D. Wk/htiana, Wall. Cat. 4406 ; 

 Bedd. F!or. Sylvat. t. 67. D. exscuVpta, Buch.-Ham. in Trans. Linn. Soc. 

 V. 15 (1827) p. 110; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 142.— Flowers : Feb.-Apr. Vern. 

 Tdmrag ; Tdmraj ; Temru. 



Common in dry deciduous forests of the Presidency, Talbot. Konkan : StocJcs ! 

 S. M. Country : hills N. of Belgaum, Bitchie, 1108 !, Gibson ! 



The tree furnishes a good ebony. Mr. Talbot says that he has seen 8 inches of 

 ebony obtained from a 16-inch tree. The fruit, though very astringent, is eaten and 

 much appreciated during the hot season. — Distrib. India (W. Peninsula) ; Ceylon, 

 not common. 



Note. — I have united B. Tupru, Buch.-Ham., with this as has been done bv Sir I). 



h2 



