( 42 ) 



crude octarch exarch cylinder with protoxylem groups joined 

 by strongly lignified perimedullary zone. (See pi. XVII., 

 fig. 5, 6). 



Timber when freshly felled is yellow or white with a 

 variable but usually small quantity of black heart wood ; 

 inferior but often used for fancy work and buildings. The 

 yellow colour (cf. D. Gardneri) is due to the preserving, in 

 very small quantities, of brown or yellow contents in the 

 parenchymatous and tracheal elements. The medullary ray 

 cells of the sapwood possess contents some of which show 

 signs of disintegration and acquire a distinct colour in passing 

 to the heart wood. The number of parenchymatous cells 

 with such contents increases considerably from without 

 in wards and in addition many of the vessels become partially 

 filled with gum-resin of a yellow colour. (See pi. II., fig. 7). 

 The differentiation of the elements is fairly regular ; the 

 percentage number of fibres is rather high. This species is 

 only rarely felled for its timber. The rings of growth are 

 visible to the naked eye ; sometimes they have a radial 

 diameter of 1 mm. but occur at very irregular distances from 

 one another. 



Uses. The timber though inferior in quality is sometimes 

 , used in fancy work. The fruits when ripe are a trifle fleshy : 

 ' they are occasionally eaten. 



Distribution rather rare and limited to the wet zone up 

 to 4,000 feet ; Hantana, Gangaruwa, Watagoda, Ekneligoda, 

 Ambalawa, Sinha Raja forest. 



Also in S. India. 



/3, Diospyros Melanoxylon Roxb. Cor. p. 36, t. 46 (1795). 



Kadumberiya, S. 



Alph. D. C. Prodr. VIII., p. '224 n. 7 (1884). Fl. B. Ind. 

 III., 564. 



Roxb. Cor. PI. t. 46. Hiern, Mon. Eben. 159. 



A medium-sized or large tree, evergreen, dioecious (poly- 

 gamous ?) ; bark deeply fissured in alternate grey and black 

 layers, fissures running vertically for a great distance; 100 



