FICUS 



RBLIGIOSA SPECIES OF INDIAN FIG 



Pipal 



is concerned it would appear that the most approved variety is that found at 

 the village of Khed Shivapur, 14 miles south of Poona at an altitude of about 

 2,200 feet, but the fruit of Baluchistan, Afghanistan and Persia is superior to 

 Medicine. the Indian. As a MEDICINE, the dried fruit is demulcent, emollient, nutritive 



and laxative. [Cf. Pharmacog. Ind., 1893, iii., 342-5 ; Eisen, Handling and 

 Curing of Figs, (in Ind. Agri., Nov. 1, 1897, 348 ; April 1897, 128 ; Feb. 1, 



1898, 57 ; Dutt, Mat. Med. Hind., 1900, 291 ; Repts. Agri. Exp. Stat. California, 

 1894, 1896-8, 1900, 1903-4 ; Cyprus Journ, 1905, ii., 76.] 



F. Cunia, Ham. / Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind., ii., 65, 139; iii., 103; Agri. Ledg., 1904, 

 No. 4, 27-8. The khewnau, dumhur, riu, kanhya, sangji kanai, poroh, ye-kha-ong, 

 jonua, etc. A moderate-sized tree of the Sub-Himalayan tract from the Chenab 

 eastwards ascending to 4,000 feet, Bengal, Orissa, the Circars and Burma, 

 Lac. usually on the banks of streams or in ravines. LAC is produced on this tree. A 



Fibre. fibre is obtained from the bark which is used for tying the rafters of Native houses. 



The fruit ripens about July to October and is eaten in India, though somewhat 

 insipid. The wood is not used economically. The leaves are rough and some- 

 times employed in place of sandpaper. 



F. elastica, Roxb. ; see India-rubber (pp. 651-5), 



F. g-lomerata, Roxb. ; Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind., ii., 139, 188 ; iii., 103. 

 The gular, aroa tue, jagya dumar, dumer, Iowa, dimeri, tchongtay, thoja, 

 panwa, krumbal, baibar, dadhuri, umbar, ormul, rumadi, atti, moydi, kulla- 

 kith, yetJia-pan, udumbara, etc. A large tree noticeable from its being 

 deciduous in the middle of the rainy season. It is found on the Salt 

 Kange, the outer Himalaya and Sub-Himalayan tract from Kashmir 

 eastwards ; in Assam, on the Khasia hills and in Bengal ; in Burma, 

 Central, Western and Southern India, and in Ceylon. 



It produces a viscid GUM which is made into birdlime ; Hooper (Rept. 

 Labor. Ind. Mus. (Indust. Sec.), 1906-7, 6) mentions that the latex contains only 

 4-9 per cent, caoutchouc and 94-0 per cent, resin. It bears large fruits in profusion, 

 which ripen all the year round, are eaten both ripe and unripe, and are con- 

 sidered a useful famine FOOD, being ground to a powder and mixed with flour. 

 The leaves are used for cattle and elephant fodder. The WOOD is not durable, 

 but is utilised for well-frames and for rough purposes, such as outhouse doors 

 and cross-pieces lor carts. [Cf. Pharmacog. Ind., 1893, iii., 338-42 ; Duncan, 

 Dyes and Dyeing, Assam, 1896, 25; Innes, Jungle Prod., 1897, 8, 11 ; Dutt. 

 Mat. Med. Hind., 1900, 321 ; Agri. Ledg., 1902, No. 1, 53 ; 1904, No. 4, 28-30.] 



F. infeetoria, Roxb.; Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind., i., 94 ; ii., 138, 188, 340, etc. 

 The pilkhan, ramanjir, pdkri, kaim, pdkar, baswesa, prab, safed kabra. 

 kangji, pepere, serilli, war, baibar, jangli pipli, trimbal, bassari, jovi, 

 tsjakela, nyaunggyin, kalaha, plaksha, etc. A large (at first often 

 epiphytic) tree found in the Sub-Himalayan tract from the Salt Range 

 to Sikkim, and thence throughout India, Burma and Ceylon. It is 



varieties. more commonly planted than wild. There are in India three varieties. 



Fibre. The bark is said to yield a fair FIBRE. The bark is one of the five known as 



Food. panchavalkala, or the five barks. The young shoots are eaten by the Natives, 



and the leaves make good elephant and cattle fodder. The WOOD is sometimes 



Charcoal. used for charcoal, but not otherwise. [Cf. Dutt, Mat. Med. Hind., 1900, 235 ; 



Innes, Jungle Prod., 1897, 9.] 



Pipal. F. religlosa, Linn. ; Cameron, For. Trees Mysore and Coorg, 1894, 



283-4 ; Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind., i., 70, 89, 185, 209, etc. ; Ind. Gard., March 



1899, 87 ; Woodrow, Gard. in Ind., 1899, 453. Known as the pipal or 

 peepul, the asvattha of the classics, and by the following, among many 

 other vernacular names : pipal, ashvatha, aswat, hesar, jari, bor-bur, 

 ali, arasa, rdi, ragi, basri, haspath, nyaung-baudi, bo, etc. A large tree 

 (usually starting as an epiphytic) without aerial roots. It is found in 

 the Sub-Himalayan forests from the Panjab eastwards ; Bengal, Orissa 



538 



Gum. 

 Fruit. 



Timber. 

 Dye. 



