152. BIOSCOREACEM. [1. Dioscorea. 



Singbhum. esp. iu the Valley forests and on northern slopes, frequent ! Hazari- 

 bagh ! Purl ! Angul ! Fl. Oct.-Nov. Fr. Dec.-Feb. 



Tubers numerous fascicled 2-3. ft long and 1-3" diam. Young leaves shining, 

 older shining or dull, sec. n. scarcely visible beneath and not continuous from one 

 costa to the next, scarcely raised and reticulate, or sometimes sub-scalariform ; 

 costse usually 9 of which lowest often forked, 3-5 reach the apex ; translucent dots 

 and dashes are visible by transmitted light ; underside of blade somewhat paler 

 than upper, but not glaucous. Petiole often as long as the blade, subterete, 

 flattened on upper side near the apex, but not ridged with the decurrent leaf- 

 nerves (though it sometimes appears ridged or striate when dry). Rhachis of 

 panicles sometimes flattened. Bracts ovate half as long as the sepals or less, 

 deflexed and base somewhat adnate and decurrent on the rhachis under the flower, 

 bracteole subequal. M. sepals broadly oblong, slightly tapering to the rounded 

 apex, concave ; petals suborbicular little shorter ; anthers large broad, as long as 

 fil. Fern. sep. broadly ovate up to -07", rather thick, pet. obovate nearly as long, 

 very thick, each with a small staminode in a depression near the centre. Young 

 fruit pyriform in outUne. Seeds winged all round, wing much dotted. 



The tubers are eaten in the rainy season. They are said to require a large 

 number of successive boihngs to remove the acrid principle. 



6. D. Hamiltonii, Hook.f. Beri-kanda, Ho. ; Barnjharia, 31. ; Piska- 

 sang, S. 



A climber with distinctly angled, sometimes subalate, and often 

 t\visted unarmed stems. Leaves closely resembling those of D. belo- 

 2)hylla, but less blue-green, and Avhen dry the cross-nervules are less 

 scalariform, being joined up into sub-isodiametric areoles b}- other 

 equally strong nervules, opposite or sub-opposite, lanceolate, ovate 

 or deltoid or ovate-lanceolate with deeply cordate or sagittate base 

 Avith rounded auricles, 4-7-5" by 2-4-5", uppermost smaller and 

 narrower. Male inflorescence very characteristic, the spikes which 

 are '5- '15" long having a markedly zigzag rhachis with a flower at 

 each angle, spikes mostly ternate (1-4-nate) or subverticillate on long 

 slender angled branches 6-15" long. Fem. spikes axillary 1-5-9" 

 long, fls. much larger than in belojyhylla (at equal stages of develop- 

 ment),* sepals very thick crescentic, concave inside and with a very 

 thick keel outside, attaining • 1" in length, petals thick oblong only 

 J-|ths as long. Capsules very large 1" long (excluding the short 

 obconic base) and up to 1 • 6" broad with distinctly margined wings. 



In the forests, but rather local and locally abundant. Saitba Forest, Singbhum 

 Kanchi, Horhap forest, common (also Hundrughagh, Wood, and without precise 

 locality, Clarke !) ! Manbhum, Campbell ! Hazaribagh, on Parasnath, Prain, 

 Clarke ! Santal Parganas, very common about Silingi, Narjanj, Korcho Hill, 

 etc. ! Fl. Sept.-Oct. Fr. Dec. 



From descriptions of the Kols the tubers resemble those of D. belophylla, but I 

 have not personally dug them up. Bulbils 0. L. 7-9-nerved as in belophijlla, 

 with 5 reaching the apex and decurrent on petiole as in that species, apex suddenly 

 acimiinate or gradually tapering to a very acute tip ; between the nerves are 

 numerous translucent dashes. Petiole about half blade or as long, similar to that 

 of D. belophylla. Male fl. yeUow, -05" long, sep. ovate-oblong rounded concave, 

 obscurely keeled, pet. smaller oblong, not thick ; st. about half as long, 6 perfect. 



Hooker in F.B.I, says " Capside longer than broad, seeds laterally winged." 

 1'his is not the case in my plant, which has capsules (in dried specimens) up to 

 1 • 75" broad and only 1 • 1" long, including the obconic pediceUiform base ; moreover 

 the seed (although the nucleus is somewhat eccentric and with one part, as is 

 usual, narrowed to the point of attachment) is clearly winged all round. The ripe 

 capsules are in fact the broadest of any of our species. My J and ? specimens 

 have been carefully matched in the field. 



It climbs from left to right. 



* The female perianth in both species continues to increase iu size in yoimg 

 fruit. 



1121 



