Ficus.] URTICACE&. 161 



the Punjab. The fruit is much eaten by the natives, both raw and 

 cooked, and it constitutes a valuable food supply during times of 

 famine. The viscid milky juice is made into birdlime. The foliage 

 is much lopped for supplying fodder for cattle and elephants, and the 

 leaves, bark and fruit are used in native medicine. Kanjilal mentions 

 that the wood of this tree is one of the few kinds prescribed in Hindu 

 scriptures for sacrificial fires. It is said to last well under water. 



The following non-indigenous species of Ficus are occasionally met 

 with in gardens within the area of this flora : 



F. BENJAMINA, L. var. COMOSA Kurz ; F. B. I. v, 508 ; Prain Beng. 

 PL 979 ; Brandis Ind. Trees 601 ; Gamble Man. 641. F. comosa, 

 Boxb. FL Ind. Hi, 552. A very ornamental tree with the habit of 

 F. retusa, and producing from its lower branches similar aerial roots. 

 The receptacles are yellow and much larger than those of the type. 

 It is wild in Chota Nagpur and in the Circars and in the valleys of the 

 E. Himalaya ; also in Assam, Chittagong and throughout Burma. 



F. ELASTICA, Roxb. / FL Ind. Hi, 541 ; Brand. For. Fl. 417 ; Ind. 

 Trees 603 ; F. B. I. v, 508 ; Kanjilal For. Fl. (ed. 2), 369 ; Cooke Fl. 

 Bomb, ii, 655 ; Gamble Man. 641. The well-known india-rubber, 

 or caoutchouc-tree, a native of the Eastern Himalaya up to 3,000 ft.; 

 also in Assam, the Khasia Hills and extending to Upper Burma. It 

 is grown in many parts of India as an ornamental tree in gardens, as 

 well as for avenues. For full particulars regarding its cultivation 

 for rubber seeWatt's Comm. Prod. Ind., p. 651. 



F. TSIELA, Boxb. FL Ind. Hi, 549 ; Brandis For. FL 415 ; Ind. Trees 

 603 ; King Sp. Ficus 59, tt. 73, 74 ; F. B. I. v, 15 ; Gamble Man. 

 645 ; Cooke Fl. Bomb, ii, 650. A large spreading glabrous tree, with- 

 out aerial roots ; allied to F. infectoria. It is found in the Ajmer 

 district of Rajputana as a planted tree, but it is truly wild in the 

 drier parts of S. India and in Ceylon. The smooth greenish-white 

 bark is said to yield a good fibre. 



F. CAHICA, Linn. ; Brandis For. FL 418 ; Ind. Trees 607 ; DC. UOrig. 

 PL Cult. 235; Watt Comm. Prod. Ind. 537. Vern. Anjir, kimri 

 Edible fig of Europe. The European fig is extensively cultivated 

 /in the plains of N. India and up to 5,000 ft. on the Outer Himalayan 

 ranges. It is also largely grown in Kashmir, Baluchistan and 

 Afghanistan and many excellent varieties may be found in those 

 countries. It is said to be truly indigenous in Syria and Palestine 

 In S. Europe it has become naturalized, and is quite hardy ip 

 England. 



