BRIDELIA.] EUPHORBlACEjE. 85 



3. BRIDELIA, Willd.; Fl. Brit. Ind. V, 267. 



Shrubs or trees. Leaves alternate, quite entire, sometimes 

 with strong straight nerves and prominent veins. Flowers small 

 or minute, monoecious or dioecious, arranged in axillary or spicate 

 clusters, sessile or very shortly pedicelled ; bracts small, scale- 

 like. MALE -flowers numerous. Perianth double. <7e%#-segments 

 5, valvate. Petals 5, short, scale-like, stalked or spathulate. 

 Disk broad, pulvinate or adnate to the calyx- tube. Stamens 5 ; 

 filaments united below in a column which bears a terminal pistillode, 

 free and spreading above ; anther-cells 2, parallel. FEMALE-flowers 

 few or solitary. Calyx- segments usually narrower than in the 

 male. Disk double, the inner forming a membranous central 

 truncate cone often enclosing the young ovary. Ovary 2 (rarely 

 3)-celled, glabrous ; styles free or shortly united below, forked 

 or subentire. Fruit a small drupe with one or two usually 1 -seeded 

 cocci or pyrenes. Seed with usually fleshy sometimes membranous 

 albumen, cotyledons thin or fleshy. Species about 30, in Trop. 

 Asia, Africa and Australia. 



Flowers dioecious ; leaves deciduous ; main 

 lateral nerves 15-20 pairs, straight, pro- 

 minent ; drupe globose. A small tree with 

 stout more of less persistent spines . 1. B. retusa. 



Flowers monoecious ; leaves persistent ; nerves 

 more or less arching : 



Leaves glabrous or slightly tomentose 



beneath, but not glaucous ; main lateral 



nerves 10-15 pairs ; calyx in fruit not 



enlarged ; drupe fusiform. A small 



tree . . . . . . . 2. B. montana, var. 



communis. 

 Leaves pubescent beneath, or if at length 



glabrous then glaucous beneath ; main 



lateral nerves 6-9 pairs ; calyx in fruit 



distinctly enlarged ; drupe oblong. A 



scandent sometimes spinose shrub . . 3. B. stipularis. 



i. B. retusa. Spreng. Syst. Veg. Hi, 48 ; Brandis For. Fl. 

 449, t. 56 ; Ind. Trees 560 ; F. B. I. v, 268 ; Watt. E. D.; Kanjilal 

 For. Fl. (ed. 2) 345 ; Gamble Man. 595 ; Prain Beng. PL 927 ; Cooke 



