I 





Feronia.] XVII. RUTACE^E. 57 



ornamental carving. The sapwood often eaten by beetles. A white trans- 

 parent gum exudes from the bark, which is collected, and forms part of the 

 East Indian Gum- Arabic of commerce, together with the gum of the Nvm, 

 Mango, Babul, Seriss, Khair, Bahera, and several other trees. Pulp of the 

 fruit acid ; a jelly is made from it. 



9. ^IGLE, Correa. 

 Leaves alternate, trifoliolate ; leaflets pellucid-punctate. Flo.wers bi- 

 sexual. Calyx small, 4-5-dentate, deciduous. Petals 4-5, imbricate. 

 Stamens numerous, with short subulate filaments, and long linear 

 anthers. Ovary on cylindrical disc, with a thick fleshy axis, and 10-20 

 small cells near the circumference, with numerous ovules in each cell 

 attached to the central angle. Stigma capitate, obtuse, deciduous. 

 Fruit globose, with a hard woody rind, 8-16-celled, filled with an aro- 

 matic pulp. Seeds numerous, oblong, flat j testa woolly, covered with a 

 viscid fluid. 



1. A. Marmelos, Correa ; Eoxb. Cor. PL t. 143 j Fl. Ind. ii. 579 ; Wight 

 & A. Prodr. 96; Wight Ic. 16; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 161. The Bael 

 tree. Sans. Bllva, malura. Vern. Bel, bil, bila, bill. Local name, Ma- 

 haka-marra, Gonds., C.P. ; Ushitben, Burm. 



Glabrous, armed with axillary, straight, strong, sharp spines, 1 in. long 

 or more. Leaflets 3, rarely 5, ovate-lanceolate, crenate, terminal long- 

 petiolulate, lateral nearly sessile. Flowers greenish white, with a fine 

 honey scent, on short lateral panicles ; pedicels and calyx pubescent. 

 Calyx flat, teeth indistinct. Petals oblong, coriaceous, thickly dotted. 

 Filaments occasionally fascicled. Fruit globose, oblong, or pyriform, 2 to 

 5 in. diam., with a smooth, grey or yellow rind, and a thick, orange- 

 coloured, sweet, aromatic pulp. 



Wild in the Siwalik tract and Outer Himalaya, ascending to 4000 ft., from 

 the Jhelam to Assam ; also in Oudh, Behar, Bengal, Central and South India 

 and Burma. Often gregarious when wild. Cultivated throughout India, ex- 

 cept in the northern part of the Panjab ; frequently planted near Hindoo 

 temples. Leaves shed about March and April ; the new foliage appears in 

 April and May. Fl. about May ; and fruit ripens in Oct., Nov., remains long 

 on the tree. 



When cultivated, a middle-sized tree to 35 ft. high, with a short, erect, often 

 fluted, irregularly-compressed, and scooped-out trunk, attaining a girth of 7 ft. ; 

 branches few, extremities often drooping, forming a narrow oval head. Wild 

 (in N.W. India) generally a small, scrubby tree. Bark of trunk and larger 

 branches ^ in. thick and more, outside soft, corky, light-cinereous or bluish 

 grey, with large dark stains, and irregular, longitudinal, shallow furrows. 

 Wood light-coloured, mottled with darker wavy lines and small light-coloured 

 dots. Medullary rays indistinct. Even-, close-grained, 40-50 lb. per cub. ft. 

 The tree being valued for its fruit, is not often felled ; but the timber is esteemed 

 for strength and toughness. Used in construction, for pestles of oil- and sugar- 

 mills, naves and other parts of carts, and for agricultural implements. Twigs 

 and leaves are lopped for cattle-fodder. The tenacious pulp of the fruit is used 

 medicinally in diarrhoea and dysentery, as sherbet, and as a conserve (Pharm. 

 Ind. 46). Dry, it keeps well as a hard, transparent substance. It is also con- 

 sidered an excellent addition to mortar, especially in building wells. Snuff- 

 boxes are made of the shell of the fruit ; the leaves, root, and bark are used 

 in native medicine ; from the flowers a scented water is distilled. 



