105. VERBENACEJE. [11. Premna. 



7. P. latifolia, Roxb. Gineri, Ne})., Sande-Sabar, K. ; Dandra-sea, 8. ; 

 Bakar, H. ; Dankaroni, Gondhona, Or. 

 A low bushy tree with trunk iip to 4 ft. girth, or shrubby with 

 usually ovate, sometimes elliptic, leaves 2-6"5" long, entire, pubescent 

 beneath or both sides when young, and often permanently pubes- 

 cent on the nerves beneath. Panicles 3-chotomous 2-5" diam., hairy- 

 pubescent, with short oblong or lanceolate bracts, or upper bracts 

 very small linear. Calyx pubescent or strigose, 5-toothed, not or 

 scarcely 2-lipped. Corolla distinctly 2-lipped, •15-"2" (including the 

 lobes) long, upper lip oblong rounded entire or emarginate, lower 

 longer with three spreading obtuse or rounded lobes. Drupe •25", 

 depressed globose, seated on the saucer- shaped or patelliform "2 -'5 

 diam., sub-entire calyx. 



Northern Champaran! Purneah ! Raj mahal Hills, frequent on trap ! Ranchi 

 ghats! Eazaribagh! Manbhnm, " a common bush" Camp. I Gang-pur, along 

 streams ! Fl. April-May, on the new shoots. Fr. May-June. 



Bark thin light-grey or brown ; blaze white. Shoots pubescent. Leaves some- 

 what foetidly aromatic (characteristic Premna smell), shining above, and both 

 surfaces sometimes with minute erect hairs, sec. n. 4-8. Petiole •25-'75 or rarely 

 up to 1'.5'' Cyme branches ascending, not branchiate. Cor. -tube exserted. Endo- 

 carp ridged or verrucose,4-celled, usually 1-seeded. 



It dries blue or black ;exc. in var. Gamblei). 



Var. latifolia, proper. 



BoxhiD-gh's plant, a native of the Coromandel coast, has the leaves orbicular-cor- 

 date or ■' oval," pointed or obtuse, about 2'5" each way, a little downy, according 

 to his description. He adds: "Bracts minute, falling. Fls. of a dirty yellow. 

 Corolla upper lip 3-cleft, under one emarginate. Drupe the size of a pea, twin, 

 juicy. Nut wrinkled, i-celled. The leaves have a pretty strong though not disagree- 

 able smell." A specimen in Herbarium marked " Hb. Roxb." has leaves rather 

 densely pubescent beneath. 



This form is perhaps not found in our area though the Rajmahal plant is a mere 

 bush with the leaves rounded or shortly cuneale only at the base. The corymbs 

 are very villous with brachiate branches and the bracts linear, sometimes persistent. 

 A Puri specimen has small leaves with the tip sometimes obtuse, but the base is 

 acute or rounded. The drupe is sometimes shortly ciispidate. This Puri form, 

 also, has the leaves sometimes ;not always in the same plant) slightly toothed. 

 Our plants have all white floAvers, though they may turn j-ellowish with age. It is 

 not understood what Roxburgh means by the drupe being twin. 



Var. mucronata, Clarice. Syn. P. mucronata, Roxb. 



Leaves tapering both ends, entire, slightly villous beneath. The 

 acumination is sometimes very fine and the leaves sometimes nearly 

 or quite glabrous beneath. 



Most of the north Indian forms are now usually called P. mucronata and it is 

 common in our area. Purneah! Champaran! Gangpur! and possibly the 

 Chota Nagpur plant ; but specimens from Ranchi appear to come equally well 

 under var. cuneata, Clarke, with leaf-base rhomboid or cuneate, calyx strigose, 

 leaves often very pubescent when young. Some of these (var. cuneata ?) have the 

 leaves 4" broad ! 



Var. Gamblei, Haines. Syn. P. integrifolia. Gamble, in Darjeeling 

 List ; Gineri, Nep. 

 A tree attaining 5 ft. girth, often with long straight thorns on 

 young stems and branches. Bark dark grey, blaze soft, dead white. 

 Twigs brown, brittle, younger pubescent. Leaves broadly lanceolate 

 or elliptic 25-6", acuminate and with cuneate base, drying green or 



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