14 VI. CAPPARIDE^E. [Capparis. 



Leaves linear, minute ; older branches leafless ; flowers brownish 



red 1. C. aphylla. 



Leaves ovate or elliptic ; flowers wnite or rose-coloured. 



Flowers solitary, large ; fruit 1-3 in. long . . . . 2. C. spinosa. 



Flowers 2-4, supra- axillary, large ; fruit 1-1 \ in. diam. . . 3. 0. horrida. 



Flowers corymbose, small ; fruit I in. diam. . . . 4. C. sepiaria. 



1. C. aphylla, Roth.Tab. III. W. & A. Prodr. 27 ; Hook. Fl. 

 Ind. i. 174. Syn. Sodada decidna, Forskal; Capparis Sodada, R. Br., 

 Boissier Fl. Orient, i. 419. Vern. Karll, Karl, Pb. N.W.P. ; Rival, 

 Sindh ; Sodada, Arab. 



Glabrous. Leaves on young shoots only, caducous, sessile, linear-subul- 

 ate, mucronate, \ in. long, occasionally spathulate, varying to \ in. long ; 

 stipules thorny, nearly straight, brown. Flowers brownish red or scarlet, 

 corymbose, corymbs nearly sessile. Sepals unequal; the anterior outer sepal 

 larger and deeply concave. Petals ovate, longer than sepals, scarlet. 

 Stamens 8-20 ; filaments long, filiform. Ovary on slender gynophore as 

 long as stamens ; style subulate. Fruit globose or ovoid, J-| in. diam. ; 

 red when ripe ; on a gynophore 1 in. in length. 



Common in dry places and on stony hills throughout the Panjab, Sindh, 

 and Rajputana, Bandelkhand, the Central Provinces, Guzerat, the Dekkan, 

 and occasionally as far south as Tinnevelly. Flourishes in the driest deserts 

 of North- West India, frequently associated with Prosopis spicigera and the 

 Salvadoras. Extends westward as far as Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia. 



New leaves on young shoots Nov. to March. Fl. March, April, sometimes 

 as late as June ; the bushes often crowded with the conspicuous brilliant scar- 

 let blossoms. 



Generally a scrubby bush, but under favourable circumstances a small tree, 

 rarely 20 ft. high, with a short, erect trunk, often 4-5 ft., rarely 7-8 ft. girth. 

 Branches numerous, divaricating, forming a depressed subglobose crown of 

 dark-green colour ; branches occasionally flattened into horny ribbons. Roots 

 immense, spreading deep and wide. The natural reproduction and propaga- 

 tion of this tree should be studied ; it is stated that it has never been raised 

 by hand from seed or cuttings. Bark of trunk ^ inch thick, dark grey, fur- 

 rowed with deep irregular longitudinal and diagonal cracks. 



Wood with more or less distinct annual rings, whitish or light yellow, close- 

 even-grained, tough, weighs about 54 lb. per cubic foot, when seasoned. It is 

 bitter, and is not touched by white ants. Used for small beams and rafters in 

 roofs ("in Sindh for the knees of boats), for oil-mills and agricultural implements. 

 As fuel, it answers well for brick -burning ; for locomotives, it must be mixed 

 with other wood. Burns off quickly with much flame, and leaves much ash. 



The flower-buds {pan) are used as pickle in Sindh, the unripe fruit is cooked 

 and eaten ; both the ripe and unripe fruit are prepared with salt and pepper 

 into a bitter-tasted pickle which is exported into Hindustan. 



2. C. spinosa, Linn.; Hook. Fl. Ind. i. 173; Boissier Fl. Orient, i. 

 420. Syn. C. obovata, Royle; Jacq. Voy. Bot. t. 21. C. Murray ana, 

 Graham ; Wight Ic. t. 379. Caper plant. Vern. Kabbar, Arab. ; Kabarra, 

 Afg. ; Kdbra, Tibet ; Kaur, kidri, kakri, kander, taker, ber, bardri, bauri, 

 bassar, Pb. ; Kalvari, Sindh. 



Glabrous, but the young parts frequently covered with a white yellowish 

 or greenish, soft, and caducous tomentum ; armed with recurved or 

 nearly straight stipular spines. Leaves petiolate, broad -ovate or obo- 



