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Seedlings epigeal ; cotyledons not readily detached but 

 never function as assimilatory organs and exist as white or 

 shrivelled leaves for a few days ; by the time the cotyledons 

 are dead the enhanced epicotyledonary leaves are deep green 

 and well developed (cf. D. Thwaitesii). 



Cotyledons whi te, 13 mm. long ; hypocotyl white, glabrous, 

 90 mm. long ; epicotyledonary stem greenish, hairy, 3 mm. 

 long ; epicotyledonary leaves form an opposite pair, ovate, 

 rounded apex, rounded or tapering base, glabrous, 50 mm.long, 

 25 mm. broad ; traces 3 per cotyledon, xylem of median trace 

 weak, xylem of lateral cotyledonary traces much split; one 

 trace per epicotyledonary leaf , weak and continued into root. 



Timber. A typical red wood with occasional small black 

 strands ; black heartwood absent or small ; the elements 

 are feebly lignified, even the fibres ; vessels have rather large 

 transverse dimensions. The colouring substances are not 

 very abundant. The timber is much inferior to ebony but 

 superior to the yellow and white woods already described. 

 It is rarely felled even where very abundant, and most 

 natives disregard it entirely as a source of durable timber. 



Distribution. Moist lowcountry, rather rare, Kalutara, 

 Hewessa, Penijaval Forests, Kadawatte, Hinidumkanda, near 

 Galle. It grows well in poor sandy or rocky soils providing 

 there is plenty of water ; in some districts it can only be 

 found alongside the streams with roots occasionally sub- 

 merged ; often accompanies D. Embryopteris and D. quffisita 

 in moist low-country. 



Endemic. 



The habit of D. Moonii is very different from that of 

 D. hirsuta or D. Thwaitesii, and in this respect greatly 

 resembles D. Embryopteris ; the fleshy leaves resemble 

 those of D. acuta ; the flat relatively thin fruiting calyx 

 and the large globose fruits are widely different from 

 anything met with in D. hirsuta or D. Thwaitesii. D. 

 Thwaitesii resembles D. hirsuta in many features, but can 

 always be distinguished from it in virtue of its 4-celled 

 ovary, larger number of stamens, thinner and smaller leaves. 



