IN CEYLON. 19 



The lateral and reticulate bundles are invariably pellucid ; 1 

 sometimes this character is not very conspicuous, as in 

 D. affinis ; in other species, particularly D. Embryjppteris, 

 D. Ebenum, and D. T^posia, the translucent character of 

 the small bundles is the most striking feature of the 

 foliage. 



The reticulate meshwork is of a closely knit nature in D. 

 Toposia ; and in IX Embryflpteris, particularly var. nervosa, 

 the meshwork is wide. 



The pellucid venation, though characteristic of every 

 Ceylon species of Diospyros, is not limited to this group of 

 plants. It is prominent throughout the Anonaceae, and also 

 characterizes the foliage in species of Anacardium. 



Climatic Types. The majority of the Ceylon species have 

 tough coriaceous leaves, this being particularly characteristic 

 of P. ijisignis, D. Embryopteris, and IX Ebenum. The 

 coriaceous type of leaf is prevalent in nearly every one of 

 our dry zone species. In the wet zone species we may have 

 the fleshy type of leaf, as in D. acnta and D. Moonii ; the 

 densely pubescent and thin type, as in D. pruriens ; or the 

 normal tender leaves, as in D. attenuata and D. ThwaitesiL 

 The fleshy type and the densely pubescent type are, as far 

 as the Ceylon species of Diospyros are concerned, limited to 

 the very wet zone. The pubescent type, as exemplified in . 

 the leaves of D. pruriens, is found in a part of the Island /. / . / V 

 where the rainfall is never less than 300 inches per year ; 

 D. hirsute.,, which in point of pubescence comes next to D. 

 pruriens, likewise thrives best in the wet districts of Eratna 

 and Ratnapura. 



Persistence of Foliage. The Ceylon species of Diospyros 

 are of the evergreen type. This is characteristic of the 

 genus throughout the world, there being very few excep- 

 tions, notably D. Tupru^ Buck., which according to Beddome 

 sheds all its leaves in the cold season and produces new ones 

 in the beginning of the hot weather. The twigs of D. 



