Order 5. Menispermacece. i I 



seeds are the Cocculus indicus of commerce, chiefly used in adul- 

 terating beer. 



3. COCCULUS. 



C. macrocarpus. Climbing over high trees with round or 

 kidney-shaped peltate leaves, smooth and long petioled ; N 

 flowers very small, yellowish, in panicles from the older 

 branches ; fruit in clusters. Rdmrik, wdtvel. 



This is the only very attractive native species in the order. The 

 beautiful clusters of fruit, like grapes with a silvery bloom, are very 

 noticeable, and the foliage is luxuriant, the bright green leaves often 

 forming thick hanging masses. Abundant at Matheran ; tolerably 

 common on Konkan hills, and in the Ghauts. These great woody 

 climbers were by old travellers called " lianas," a term first used in 

 the French colonies (Chambers}. In the same way the great creepers 

 of tropical regions were called by the essentially English name of 

 "supple-jacks." "In many parts the woods are so overrun with 

 supple-jacks that it is scarcely possible to force one's way amongst 

 them. I have seen several which were 50 or 60 fathoms long." 

 Cook's " Voyages." 



2. C. villosus. A soft hairy climber, much smaller than 

 the last, leaves oval rather triangular, short stalked ; male 

 flowers in nearly sessile clusters, female 3 together on a short 

 stalk ; fruit size of a pea, black, smooth, full of very "black 

 juice. Hundir, ivassanvel, tan. 



Common in hedges, Deccan and Konkan. Throughout tropical and 

 subtropical India (-H\)- 



4. ClSSAMPELOS. 



C. pareira. A slightly hairy climber, leaves peltate, round- 

 cordate or kidney- shaped ; flowers yellowish minute, male in 

 panicles, feathery looking, female in racemes with large round 

 bracts ; fruit red, downy, size of a pea. Pahddvel, pa- 

 hddmul. 



Common in hedges in the Konkan and elsewhere. Tropical and 

 subtropical India (#.). It looks like a small edition of Cocculus 

 macrocarpus. 



5. CYCLEA. 



Note. The species of this genus are easily distinguished by the 

 cup-shaped calyx and corolla. Cissampelos has the corolla alone 

 cup-shaped. 



C. peltata. A climber, leaves peltate hairy, flowers very 

 small green, male panicles very long ; drupe kidney-shaped, 

 hairy. Pdrvel, pddel. 



The Konkan, Matheran, and Mahableshwar. *C. Bv.rmanii attri- 



