70 XXI. MELIACEiE. [Heynea. 



3. HEYNEA, Eoxb. 



Trees with imparipinnate leaves ; leaflets opposite, petiolulate ; com- 

 mon petiole articulate. Flowers bisexual, cymose, on axillary panicles ; 

 peduncles and pedicels articulate. Calyx small, 4-5-cleft. Petals 4-5, 

 erect, imbricate. Staminal tube deeply 8-10-cleft, divisions linear, sharply 

 2-toothed at the top, and bearing an anther between the teeth. Ovary 

 2-3-celled, immersed in the fleshy disc ; style short, clavate, with a fleshy 

 ring at the top ; ovules 2 in each cell, collateral. Capsule fleshy, 1 -celled, 

 2-valved, 1 -seeded. Seed without albumen, enclosed in an arillus, the 

 radicle pointing upwards. 



1. H. trijuga, Eoxb. Cor. PI. t. 260 ; EL Ind. ii. 390. Vern. YaJciLshi, 

 Nepal. Limbara, Bomb. 



Leaflets ovate - oblong, acuminate, glabrous, 2-4 pair, 4-8 in. long. 

 Panicles corymbose, on long common peduncles. Bracts minute, cadu- 

 cous. Flowers numerous, small, white, pentamerous. Petals linear-ob- 

 long. Long hairs on both sides of staminal column; anthers 10, nearly 

 sessile, between 2 subulate teeth nearly as long as anthers. Ovary 2-celled ; 

 style below stigma surrounded by a distinct fleshy ring. Capsule round, 

 size of a small cherry, opening into 2 broad, oblong valves. Seed 1, 

 round, invested in a complete, thin, white arillus ; testa orange when fresh, 

 chestnut-coloured afterwards ; cotyledons hemispherical. 



Oudh forests, Nepal, Bhutan, the Kasia hills, and west side of the peninsula. 

 The old leaves are shed in March, and the fresh foliage appears soon after- 

 wards. Fl. in Feb., March ; fruit ripens Oct.-Feb. A moderate-sized tree, 30 

 ft. high, with an erect trunk, attaining a girth of 5 ft. ; few spreading branches, 

 forming a round crown. Bark of trunk dark ash-coloured. Bark and leaves 

 are bitter, and contain an adstringent substance. 



Closely allied to this species, and possibly not different from it, is H. a finis, 

 Juss. ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 134 ; from the western mountains of South India. 



4. SWIETENTA, Linn. 

 1. S. Mahagoni, Linn, j Hook. Bot. Miscell. i. t. 16, 17. Mahogany. 



A large tree, with abruptly pinnate, smooth, coriaceous leaves ; leaflets 

 opposite, on short petiolules, ovate, unequal-sided. Panicles axillary, 

 pendulous, branches and pedicels slender. Flowers small, pale-greenish 

 white, pentamerous. Petals patent, oblong. Staminal tube urceolate, 

 10-toothed; anthers alternating with the teeth. Disc annular, surround- 

 ing the base of the 5-celled ovary, with a short thick style and a flat 

 discoid stigma. Capsule ovoid, 3-6 in. long, opening septicidally into 5 

 valves, leaving a large pentagonal axis in the centre. Seeds flat, attached 

 to the top of the axis, with a long wing at the upper end ; albumen thin, 

 enclosing the flat foliaceous cotyledons. 



A native of Central America and the West Indies ; has been cultivated suc- 

 cessfully near Calcutta and in Sikkim, and is grown as far' north as Saharanpur. 

 Fl. April. The excellent qualities of mahogany as a furniture-wood are well 

 known ; it is also used for shipbuilding. Heartwood large, reddish brown, very 



