124 i.Kr.r.Mi.v \_Dallery\tt. 



9. DALBERGIA, Linn. HI. 



Contains about 28 Indian species, of which one-half are trees and the other half 

 climbing shrubs. About 8 species are found in North-West and Central India, 13 in 

 Ihe Eastern Himalaya. Assam and Eastern Bengal, 8 in South India, and 18 in Burma. 

 The lienus is divided into sections as follows: 



Pod flattened, winged at the edges 



Staminal bundle split on one side only . Sissoa. 



two sides . . Dalbergaria. 



Pod thickened, not winged, falcate . . . Selenolobium (Drepanocarpus 



Kurz). 



To the section Sissoa belong the trees D. Sissoo, latifolia, rimosa and cultrata and nine 

 climbing shrubs. To the section Dalbergaria belong the trees D. lanceolaria, pur- 

 jiurea,paniculata, glomeriflora and hircina and five climbing shrubs. To the section 

 Selenolobium belong D. spinosa and reniformis, trees or erect shrubs and two climbers. 



D.rimosa, Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 233 ; Hook. Fl. Ind. ii. 232; Brandis 148, Vern. 

 Kaogrwto, Sylhet and D. hircina, Ham. ; Brandis 151. Vern. Saras, bandir, tantia, 

 yogera, Hind., are trees found in the Sub-Himalayan tract from the Ganges eastwards. 

 I), reniformis Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 226 ; Hook. Fl. Ind. ii. 238. (Drepanocarpus re- 

 nifurmis, Kurz i. 336). Vern. Kures, Sylhet; Htoukma, Burm.; and D. spinosa, Roxb. 

 Fl. Ind. iii. 233. Vern. Yaychinya, Burm., are small trees of the tidal forests of 

 Burma, the latter species, according to Kurz i. 337, having : " Wood soft, beautifully 

 silvery white, close and straight grained. The roots powdered absorb alcohol, and a 

 spoonful of the powder in a tumblerful of water is said to be sufficient to destroy in 

 less than half an hour the effects of alcohol, even in cases bordering on delirium 

 tremens." D. glomeriflora, Kurz, is a tree of the upper forests of the Pegu Yomas. 



Among the climbers, which have mostly a hard wood, the chief are D. volu- 

 biJ!.?, Roxb.; Brandis 152. Vern. JBhatia, banJchara, Hind., found in the Sub- 

 Himalayan tract; and D. tamarindifolia, Roxb.; Gamble 29. Vern. Damar, 

 Nep. ; Keti, Sylhet, of the outer Eastern Himalaya, Eastern Bengal, Burma and the 

 Andamans. D. monosperma, Dalz. (Drepanocarpus monospermus, Kurz i. 337), is 

 a scandent shrub of tidal forests in Upper Tenasserim. D. Cumingii, Bth., is a scandent 

 shrub said by Kurz to give a dyewood, the Kayu-lakka of commerce. D. congcsta, 

 Grab. ; and D. sympathetica, Nimmo, are climbing shrubs of the hills of South India. 



D. Sissoo, latifolia and cultrata have a hard, dark-coloured, heavy 

 heartwood; while 2). stipulacea, lanceolaria and paniculata have white wood 

 without heart wood. All Dalbergias, with the exception of nigrescent 

 (the identification of which is doubtful), have scanty, moderate-sized 

 pores, joined by narrow bands or lines of soft texture. Medullary rays 

 fine, uniform and equidistant. 



1. Dalbergia Sissoo, Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 223; Hook. Fl. Ind. ii. 231 ; 

 Beddome t, 25 ; Brandis 149 ; Gamble 28. The Sissoo. Vern. Shisham, 

 sissn, sissai, Hind.; Shewa, Pushtu; Tali, safedar, shin, nelkar, Pb. ; 

 Sissdi, Oudh ; Yette, Tarn. 



A large deciduous tree. Bark between and J inch thick, grey, ex- 

 foliating in narrow longitudinal strips. Sapw r ood small, white ; heart- 

 wood brown with darker longitudinal veins, close and even grained, 

 seasons well, very hard. Annual rings not distinctly marked, alternating 

 dark and light-coloured bands, which run into each other. Pores large 

 and moderate-sized, uniformly distributed, joined by irregular, narrow, 

 wavy, white, concentric bands. Medullary rays white, very fine, uniform 

 and equidistant* numerous. Pores well denned on a longitudinal section. 



Sub-IIimalaynn iraet from the Indus to Assam, ascending to 3,000 feet. V;in 

 rivii, in his " List of I'tnv.st Tivcs of ,M VMMV and Coorg," ^ivrs it as oa'urrinij 



under tin- Kanaivsc iiaiin- ///>/<//, but it is probably not indigenous in those proviiKvs. 

 Tin- amount of data available re^aidiiu;- tin- rate of growth of Sissii is a^ \ et 



