2 WRIGHT : THE GENUS DIOSPYROS 



description of each species. In Part I. the following arrange- 

 ment has been adopted : 



I. History. /^- ^ ~ ^ 

 II. Distribution in Ceylon. A/, // /4- 

 III. Vegetative Characters. ^ ^~^ if - 

 IV. Anatomy ; Timber Properties, * 



V. Seedlings. ty-fr 

 VI. Reproductive Organs. 

 VII. Affinity, 



L HISTORY. i\- 



Diospyros is the largest and most important genus of the 

 Ebenaceae, and since most papers dealing with this order 

 contain a description of many of our species, it is necessary 

 to trace the history of the literature on the whole subject to 

 gain a better grasp of the general bearing of the particular 

 species with which we are concerned. 



The accumulation of knowledge regarding the Ebenacea? 

 has not been rapid, probably on account of the difficulty of 

 obtaining representative material of a natural order so widely 

 spread, and also in virtue of the comparatively unattractive 

 nature of this group of plants. Though in 1753 Linnasus 

 published the names of a few species, no work of a repre- 

 sentative kind was published until that of Hiern in 1873. 

 During that interval the work consisted mainly of collecting 

 and describing species, remarking on fossil forms and 

 affinities, and discussing the ebony yielded by this group 

 of plants. 



It was not until the latter part of the nineteenth century 

 that any internal characters were used for systematic purposes, 

 but since that time the majority of contributions have dealt 

 extensively with the internal or microscopical construction 

 of the vegetative parts. The only lines of study which have 

 hitherto been neglected are those connected with the develop- 

 ment and anatomy of the embryos and seedlings. 



