LYCIUM.] SOLANACE&. 129 



cymes, pedicels i in. long or less- Calyx (in flower) in long, stellate - 

 tomentose ; teeth linear from a broad base, acute. Corolla in. long ; 

 lobes lanceolate, acute, hairy outside. Berry %% in. in diam., enclosed 

 in the much enlarged inflated somewhat 5-angled pubescent calyx, red 

 when ripe. 



Abundant within the area in dry situations. DISTRIB. Throughout the 

 drier portions of India and in Ceylon, extending to Persia, Arabia, the 

 Mediterranean region, the Canaries and to Trop. and S. Africa. The 

 roots and other parts of this plant are used medicinally, and the fruit 

 possesses the same property as that of the allied W. coagulans of coagu- 

 lating milk. The latter species, known as punirband (Cheese maker), 

 is found in the drier parts of the Punjab and of Smd, also in Afghanistan 

 and Baluchistan, and is very generally employed as a substitute for 

 rennet. 



4. LYCIUM, Linn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. iv, 240. 



Spinous shrubs, usually glabrous. Leaves sm;ill, alternate or often 

 fascicled at the nodes, entire, linear-terete or flat. Pedicels usually 

 solitary, rarely fascicled at the nodes, flowers small. Calyx 

 campanulate, at first 5-merous, then 3-5 lobed or 2-lipped, not or 

 slightly enlarged in fruit. Corolla funnel-shaped ; lobes 5 or 4, 

 imbricate in bud. Stamens 5 or 4, on the corolla-tube ; anthers 

 oblong, exserted or included, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary 2- 

 celled, style filiform, stigma subcapitate. Fruit a small globose or 

 oblong berry. Seeds several few or solitary, compressed, embryo 

 peripheric. Species abont 50, in temperate and sub-tropical regions, 

 especially in S. Africa and S. America. 



L. europeeum, Linn. 8p. PL 192 ; Royle UL 279 ; Brandis For. PL 345 ; 



Ind. Trees 490 ; F. E. I. iv, 240 ; Watt E.D.; Gamble Man. Ind. Timb. 



508. -Vern. Achmehndi (Ajinere), Chirchitta (Delhi). 



A glabrous thorny shrub, sometimes pubescent when young. Leaves 

 ^-l in. long, linear-oblong or oolanceolate. Flowers white or pale- 

 purple, in. long, solitary, on slender pedicels which are shorter 

 than the flowers. Calyx % in. long, teeth rarely less than five. Corolla 

 % in. long, tube cylindrical, gradually widening upwards and somewhat 

 curved ; lobes less than half the length of the tube, rounded. Filaments 

 glabrous at the base, anthers almost included. Berry % in. in diam., 

 sub-globose, yellow or red. Seeds many. 



Found in Merwara and Eajputana. Flowers Oct. to March. DISTRIB. : 

 Abundant in the Punjab plain, Sind and Gujarat ; also in Afghanistan, 

 Baluchistan and Persia, extending through W. Asia to the N. African 

 and Mediterranean coasts and to the Canaries. In Europe and W. Asia 

 the flowers are usually purplish. The berries are eaten by natives, 

 and camels and goats feed on the branches. The wood affords fuel 

 and is used also in the construction of wattled frames for the walls 

 of huts. 



