Ficus.l URTICACEJE. 157 



A low tree with reddish- brown rough bark ; branchlets scabrous, 

 Leaves alternate, 6-12 in. long, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, very 

 unequal-sided, acuminate, entire or serrate, scabrid or smooth on 

 upper surface, more or less pubescent bereath ; base semisagittate, 

 the larger basal lobe 3-4-nerved, the smaller 1 -nerved; main lateral 

 nerves 9-14; petioles ^-f in., scabrid; stipules : M in., linear- 

 lanceolate, puberulous. Receptacles in. in diam., globose or pyri- 

 form, in pairs or clusters on scaly usually leafless branches, hispid,, 

 reddish- brown and ribbed when ripe ; peduncle short ; basal bracts 3. 

 Male sepals 3. Gall and fern, sepals about 4, lanceolate, gamophyl- 

 lous. Ovary of galls globose, smooth ; style very short, lateral. 

 Achrncs broadly ovoid, emarginate on one side, tubercled, viscid ; 

 style very long, lateral ; stigma large, bifid. 



Forests of Dehra Dun and Saharanpur, common on the Siwalik range 

 and extending eastwards along the Sub-Himalayan tract to N. Oudh. 

 Usually found in ravines or on the banks of streams. The receptacles 

 ripen mostly during Aug. and Sep. DISTRIB. : Outer Himalayan, 

 ranges from the Chenab eastwards to Bhutan, ascending to 4,000 ft. ; 

 also in Assam, the Khasia Hills, Chittagong, Bengal and C. India. The 

 fruit is often eaten, but is rather insipid ; the bark yields a strong 

 fibre, and the leaves are said to be used for polishing wood. 



14. F. scandens, Roxb. Hort. Beng. 65 ; FL Ind. Hi, 536 ; 

 Brandis For. FL 421 ; Ind. Trees 609 ; King Sp. Ficus 129, t. 162 ;. 

 F. B. I. v, 526 ; Watt E. D. ; Kanjildl For. Fl. (ed. 2\ 375 ; Gamble 

 Man. 648 ; Prain Beng. PL 982 ; Cooke Fl. Bomb, ii, 654. F. 

 fruticosa, Roxb. FL Ind. Hi, 533 ; F. hederacea. Roxb. I.e. 538. 

 Vern. Chhanchri (Dehra Dun). 



A scandent or creeping shrub, often rooting from the stem and branches. 

 Leaves 2-3 in. long, ovate or elliptic -ovate, acute or subacute-, 

 entire, rugulose and scabrid above, sub-areolar beneath ; base broad, 

 rounded, strongly 3-nerved ; main lateral nerves 3 pairs ; petioles 

 J-J in. ; stipules -J in., ovate, acuminate. Receptacles axillary, long- 

 peduncled, solitary or in pairs, J in. in diam., globose, scaberulous, 

 yellow turning to red when ripe ; base sometimes constricted into a 

 stipe; peduncle 3-5 in. long. Sepals of all flowers 4. Male flowers 

 usually diandrous, anthers subsessile. Ovary of gall flowers o bo void, 

 smooth ; style subterminal, short, thick, stigma hooked. Achene& 

 oblong, smooth ; style lateral, long ; stigma subcapitate. 



Dehra Dun and Siwalik range and eastwards along the Sub-Himalayan 

 tract, usually in damp places, often climbing and trailing on rocks or 



