58 ASC LEPIADACE^. [Mahsdenia. 



Corona-lobes acute, not exceeding the anther-tips. Follicles 4-6 in. long, 

 ovoid-lanceolate, longitudinally wrinkled, downy. Seeds | in. long, 

 flattened, ovate-oblong. 



Forests of Dehra Dun and Saharanpur, and in the sub-Himalayan tracts 

 of Rohilkhand and N. Oudh, also in Bundelkhand. Flowers in April 

 and May, the fruit ripening during the cold season. Distrib. : W. 

 Himalaya up to 4,500 ft eastwards to Kumaon, also in Gujarat, Rajmahal 

 Hills, Chittagong, Burma, Ceylon, extending to Java and Timor. The 

 stems of this plant yield a very strong elastic silky fibre which is much 

 used for fishing lines by the Gurkhas in Dehra Dun. It is also made use 

 of by the Sonthais in Lower Bengal for bow-strings. Both Roxburgh 

 and Boyle allude to the great value of this fibre. The milky juice of this 

 plant, when solidified, forms a useful caoutchouc capable of removing 

 pencil marks. 



4. M. Hamiltonii, W. $ A. in Wight Contrib. 41; F. B. I. iv, 36; 

 Brandis Ind. Trees 470. Cynanchum reticulatum, Herb. Ham. 



A suberect or climbing undershrub ; branches petioles undersurface of 

 leaves and inflorescence rusty -puberulous. Leaves coriaceous, pale- 

 coloured on both sides ; blade 1|-3| in. long by 1-2 in. wide, oblong- 

 ovate or lanceolate or suborbicuiar, obtuse or acute or obliquely 

 acuminate, base cordate, margins slightly revolute ; petioles |-lf in. 

 long. Cymes corymbosely branched many flowered. Calyx-lobes sub- 

 orbicular, puberulous outside. Corolla T \pg in. in diameter ; lobes 

 glabrous on both sides, throat densely villous. Corona-lobes membran- 

 ous, subulate, exceeding the anther-tips. Style-ar>ex not exserted, 

 Follicles (only young ones seen) narrowly ovoid, obtusely pointed, 

 wrinkled, puberulous. 



Discovered in 1810 by Buchanan-Hamilton in N. Oudh, and by Edgeworth 

 in the Sub-Siwalik tract. It has more recently been gathered by my 

 plant collectors in several localities within the sub -Himalayan districts 

 of Pilibhit, Kheri and Gorakhpur. Flowers April-June. Distrib. : 

 Hill tracts of S. Garhwal. As usually met with, the primary stems of 

 this species are arrested and congested into a thick woody rootstock, 

 from which annual stems are produced. These latter commence to flower 

 during the early summer, but are destroyed by the periodical jungle 

 fires usually before the seed-vessels have time to develop and ripen. The 

 type specimens collected by Buchanan- Hamilton in N. Oudh exhibit the 

 ordinary dwarfed condition of this plant. Edgeworth' s Sub-Siwalik 

 specimens are more luxuriant, owing no doubt to the locality being more 

 favourable for vigorous growth and to a great extent fire-proof. Some 

 specimens recently collected in the Pilibhit district exhibit not only a 

 more luxuriant development of stems and foliage, but also very dis- 

 tinctly the scandent habit which characterizes the genus. A fact of still 

 greater interest in regard to these specimens is the presence of young 

 follicles, no fruiting specimens of this species having previously been 

 observed. 



