+" eae 
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‘Frevs.] URTICACEZ. 161 
the Punjab. The fruit is much eaten by the natives, both raw and 
cooked, and it constitutes a valuable food supply during times of 
famine. The viscid milky juice is made into birdlime. The foliage 
is much lopped for supplying fodder for cattle and elephants, and the 
leaves, bark and fruit are used in native medicine. Kanjilél mentions 
that the wood of this tree is one of the few kinds prescribed in Hindu 
scriptures for sacrificial fires. It is said to last well under water. 
The following non-indigenous species of Ficus are occasionally met 
with in gardens within the. area of this flora :— 
F. Brengamina, L. var. comosa Kurz; F. B. I. v, 508 ; Prain Beng. 
Pl. 979 ; Brandis Ind. Trees 604; Gamble Man. 641. F. comosa, 
Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii, 552.—A very ornamental tree with the habit of 
F. retusa, and producing from its lower branches similar aerial roots. 
The receptacles are yellow and much larger than those of the type. 
It is wild in Chota Nagpur and in the Cirears and in the valleys of the 
E. Himalaya ; also in Assam, Chittagong and throughout Burma. 
F. exastica, Roxb. ; Fl. Ind. iti, 541; Brand. For. Fl. 417; Ind. 
Trees 603 ; F. B. I. v, 508 ; Kanjilal For. Fl. (ed. 2), 369 ; Cooke Fl. 
Bomb. ii, 655 ; Gamble Man. 641.—The well-known india-rubber, 
or caoutchouc-tree, a native of the Eastern Himalaya up to 3,000 ft.; 
also in Assam, the Khasia Hills and extending to Upper Burma. It 
is grown in many parts of India as an ornamental tree in gardens, as 
well as for avenues. For full particulars regarding its cultivation 
for rubber see Watt’s Comm. Prod. Ind., p. 651. 
F. Tsreta, Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii, 549 ; Brandis For. Fl. 415 ; Ind. Trees 
603 ; King Sp. Ficus 59, tt. 73, 74; F. B. I. v, 15; Gamble Man. 
645 ; Cooke Fl. Bomb. ii, 650.—A large spreading glabrous tree, with- 
out aerial roots; allied to F. infectoria. It is found in the Ajmer 
district of Rajputana as a planted tree, but it is truly wild in the 
drier parts of 8. India and in Ceylon. The smooth greenish-white 
bark is said to yield a good fibre. 
F, Carica, Linn. ; Brandis For. Fl. 418 ; Ind. Trees 607 ; DC. L’ Orig. 
Pl. Cult. 235; Watt Comm. Prod. Ind. 537.—Vern. Anjir, kimri 
—Edible fig of Europe. The European fig is extensively cultivated 
in the plains of N. India and up to 5,000 ft. on the Outer Himalayan 
ranges. It is also largely grown in Kashmir, Baluchistan and 
Afghanistan and many excellent varieties may be found in those 
countries. It is said to be truly indigenous in Syria and Palestine 
In 8. Europe it has become naturalized, and is quite hardy ip 
England. 
