XLV. AKySCAllDlACE.E. 281 



10. SPOIMDIAS, Linn. 



Deciduous glabrous trees. Leaves usually crowded at the ends of the 

 branches, alternate, iuiparipinnate ; leaflets subopposite, usually caudate- 

 acuminate. Flowers small, shortly pedicelled, polygamous, in terminal 

 spreading panicles. Calyx small, deciduous, 4-5-fid ; lobes slightly 

 imbricate. Petals 4-5, spreadinjr, subvahate. Disk cup-shaped, broad, 

 crenate. Stamens 8-10, inserted beneath the disk. Ovary sessile, free, 

 4-5-ceIled ; ovule 1 in each cell, pendulous ; styles 4-5, conniving above. 

 Drupe fleshy; stone hard, thick, 1-5-celled, the cells erect or diverging 

 and opening by canals through the top of the stone. Seed pendulous : 

 testa membranous ; embryo straight ; cotyledons elongate, plano-convex ; 

 radicle short, superior. — Distkib. Tropical regions ; species about 8. 



Panicle 12-15 in. long; stone roMgh 1. S. mangifera. 



Panicle 6-8 in. long ; btone smooth 2. S. acuminata. 



1. Spondias mangifera, WiUd. Sp. PI. v. 2 (1799) p. 751. A 

 glabrous tree 30-35 ft. high ; trunk straight ; bark smooth, ash-colored ; 

 branches nearly horizontal. Leaves 12-18 in. long, the common petioles 

 slender, terete, smooth, striate ; leaflets 3-5 pairs and a terminal one, 

 3-7 by 14-3 in. oblong or elliptic-oblong, acuminate, quite entire, more 

 or less oblique ; main nerves numerous, horizontal, straight, joined by a 

 strong intramarginal one; petiolules i-| in. long. Elowers 1- or 2-sexuaI, 

 sessile, numerous, pinkish-green, in sparingly-branched glabrous terminal 

 panicles 10-15 in. long. Calyx-teeth minute, triangular. Petals -nj-g 

 in. long, ovate-oblong, acute. Disk 10-crenate. Stamens 10, about 

 half as long as the petals. Drupes ovoid, yellow, about 1^ in. long ; 

 stone woody, hard, rough with irregular furrows and cavities, tibi'ous 

 outside. Seeds usually ], more rarely 2 or 3. PI. B. I. v. 2, p. 42; 

 Grab. Cat. p. 42 ; Dalz. & Gibs. Suppl. p. 19; Trim. PI. Ceyl. v. 1, 

 p. 327 ; Talb. Trees, Bomb. \). 63 ; Engler, in DC. Monogr. Phan. v. 4, 

 p. 248, & in Engl. & Prantl, Pflanzenf. v. 3, part 5, p. 149, fig. 97, b-b ; 

 Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 6, part 3, p. 338. — Plowers : Peb.-Apr. 

 Vern. A'mbddd, 



Often planted througliout the Presidency. Konkan : Sfocks'.; Girgaum and Mahim 

 woods (Bombay), probably planted, Graham. Gf jarat : widely planted, Woodrow. 

 S. M. Country : Ramgbat, Ritchie, 1008 ! ; Belgaum (planted), Bitchie, 1008 ! 

 Kanaka : Usheli jungles, Jiiichie, 1008; — Distrib. Tbronghout tropical Asia. 



The ripe fruit is eaten, but is not very palatable, having an astringent terebinthaceous 

 taste. It is known to Anglo-Iiidions as the hog-plum. It is not, however, the hog- 

 plum of the W. Indies, which is Spondias dulvis, Willd. 



2. Spondias acuminata, Boxh. Hort. Bmg. (1814) p. 34. An 

 elegant middle-sized tree with a dense crown ; trunk perfectly straight ; 

 bark smooth, olive-grey ; branches spreading in all directions, from 

 erecto-patent above to divaricate below. Leaflets 5-8 pairs, subopposite, 

 elliptic, caudate-acumiuate, entire, obscurely crenulate, polished. Panicles 

 6-8 in. long. Drupes ovoid, yellow when ripe, the size of a pullet's egg ; 

 stone smooth, fibrous outside. PI. B. I. v. 2, p. 42 ; Roxb. PI. Ind. v. 2, 

 p. 451 ; Grab. Cat. p. 42 ; Talb. Trees, Bomb. p. 63 ; Watt, Diet. Econ! 

 Prod. V. 6, part 3, p. 338. 



Konkan : hills near Kanheri, Graham, 1. c. Ka\ara : Talhot. 



The existence of the plant in the Bombay Presidency is somewhat doubtful. I have 

 seen one imperfect specimen from tlie hills near Kanheri which does not appear to 

 differ from S. mangifera. Engler, in DC. Monogr. Phan. v. 4, p. 249, considers the 

 species a doubtful one. The specimens in Herb. Kew. are very imperfect. 



