83. EBENAGEjE. [2. Diosptros 



elliptic or ell. -ovate very finely reticulate glabrescent leaves 2-Q" 

 long with obtuse, rounded or subacute base, M. fl. green in 3-7- 

 more fid. cymes. Buds conical with the deeply lobed calyx only one- 

 third or one fovirth as long as the twisted corolla, corolla after 

 expansion tubular-canipanulate Avith tube -IS" and 4 rounded spread- 

 ing lobes •08-"l" long. Fern. fls. •o--7o" diam. on veiy short peduncles 

 rarely •25"'long (veiy exceptionally '3"), sep. 4 broadly- or ovate-oblong 

 with rounded apex coriaceous in fruit. Fr. 1" globose to somewhat 

 oblong or with short conical tip. 



Usually near nalas, nowhere very common but widely distributed. North 

 Oliamparan forests ! Purneah ! Santal P. ! Chota Nagpur, frequent ! Puri ! Common 

 ill the Mais! Mayurbhanj ! Bonai, Coopei'\ Athmallik ! Ang'ul ! Sambalpur, 

 frequent ! Kalahandi ! Fl. April-June. Fr. Dee. -Feb. Deciduous, the flowers 

 appearing with the very younir leaves. 



Bark peeling in very thin flakes, blaze green, then yellowish or flesh-coloured, 

 rapidly darkening on exposure. Trunk and branches sometimes with stout conical 

 thorns, at other times unarmed. Leaves attain 6"5" by 3-5" when mature, glabrous 

 oi' pubescent, sometimes slightly cordate. The very fine darker nervules neither 

 raised nor depressed well mark this species when once seen. Peti. 'IS-'S". Cj'mes 

 with slender peduncles and pedicels and subulate bracts. St. 12-16, paired. Fem. fl. 

 green or yellow, tube i^rceolate, limb spreading, "S-'To" diam., staminodes 2, -4 or 8. 

 Frt. greenish yellow, finally black, '7-1'' diam. 



There are two forms which pass into one another : 



a. Leaves always quite glabrous, more membranous than in the next, 



^. Kaujilali (Diithie sp. in part). Leaves pubescent or glabrescent, usually more 



coriaceous when old and more grey in appearance. The pubescence is often very 



minute. 

 In both the apex may be obtuse or suddenly acute, more rai'ely shortly acuminate, 



sec. n. 7-11 from a very broad midrib, raised beneath when old, the lowest 2-3 usually 



very close to the base, very finely reticulate between. 



Used for the wall-j)lates, etc., of native houses. 



3. D. embryopteris, Pers. Kendu, Gara tiril, K. ; Maka-kenda, S. ; 

 Maka-tendu, Kala-tendu, Gab, H. ; Thiisra-kendu, Or. 

 A handsome tree with low spreading branches almost to the ground, 

 coriaceovis oblong or narrowly oblong glabrou.s shining leaves 5-9" 

 long or more, with rounded or obtuse base. Flowers white fragrant. 

 Males in umbellate cymes, buds ovoid-oblong with 4 small silky 

 patches. Fern, fls, 1" diam., solitary. Fruit 2'5-3''' diam., globose, 

 covered with a deciduous red scurf. 



Frequent along streams in the Central and Southern areas, especially in deep 

 rocky ravines ! Very common in the Mais of Puri ! Fl. April-May, Fr. ripens the 

 following April. Evergreen; the new leaves, which are bright crimson, appear 

 about April. 



Bark black, smooth. Leaf-buds lanceolate silky, L, acute or obtuse, sec, n. manj', 

 fine, scarcely raised, inclined very obliquely forward, very reticulate between. 

 Petiole -o-'Q". Male peduncles "S-o" pubescent, often only 4-fld., calyx urceolate 

 .silky, corolla nearly "S", campanulate or urceolate with short sub-orbicular lobes; 

 St. 20-35 or more, paired, pubescent. Fem. peduncles stout '5", sepals "o", broadly 

 ovate or sub-orbicular, 1" in fruit and foliaceous with cordate base, petals 4-5, "5" 

 diam. Seeds usually about 8, large in pulp. 



The pulp of the fruit is largely eaten by monkeys and said to be sometimes eaten 

 by human beings, but to produce gi*eat thirst ; I find that it burns the throat. The 

 pulp is very viscid and is used for caulking (gab) boats. It is full of tannin and 

 Gamble says is used for making fishing nets more durable. Both rind and 

 bark have astringent properties, and are used medicinally in diarrhoea and for 



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