162 XXXI. LEGUMINOS^:. [Bauhinia. 



tube. Legume pendulous, fiat, thick, 6-18 in. long, 2-3 in. broad, woody, 

 clothed with thick dark-brown tomentura. Seeds orbicular, flat, smooth, 

 brown, 1 in. diam. 



Common in the forests of Northern and Central India, in the sub-Himalayan 

 tract from the Chenab to Assam, Behar, and on the western coast. Fl. April ; 

 the pods of the previous year ripen about the same time. 



Stem irregularly ridged and furrowed, often more than 100 ft. long, with a 

 fibrous bark and porous wood, in broad, irregularly concentric layers. Foliage 

 dense, with an almost impenetrable network of branchlets, covering the largest 

 trees, smothering them, or causing their stems to grow crooked and irregular, 

 One of the greatest enemies of the Sal tree, but nearly extirpated by the labours 

 of the forest officers in the Khyregarh forests of Oudh. Hope is made from the 

 bark ; the leaves are used for packing, as plates, and umbrellas are made of them. 

 The pod (chihdr) is roasted, and the seeds are eaten. 



5. HARDWICKIA, Roxb. 



Trees, with abruptly pinnate leaves and small flowers in racemose 

 panicles. Calyx of 5 distinct, ovate or orbicular, petaloid, imbricate 

 sepals. Petals none. Stamens 10, alternately shorter, generally all fer- 

 tile. Anthers versatile, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary sessile, free, 

 with 2 ovules. 



1. H. binata, Eoxb. Cor. PL t. 209 ; Fl. Ind. ii. 423 ; W. & A. Prodr. 

 284; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 26. Vera. Parsid, Singrowlie hills; Anjan, 

 C.P. ; Acha, Tarn. 



Glabrous. Leaves bifoliolate ; leaflets sessile, entire, obtuse, obliquely 

 ovate, or semicordate, with 4-5 arcuate nerves ; common petioles J or J 

 the length of leaflets. Stipules small, cordate, caducous. Flowers greenish 

 yellow, on long slender racemes, arranged in axillary or terminal panicles ; 

 pedicels shorter than flowers ; bracts minute, caducous. Ovary oblong ; 

 style ascending, with a large, peltate stigma. Legume lanceolate, 2-3 in. 

 long, with parallel longitudinal veins, a solitary seed near the top. 



In dry forests of South and Central India, but not everywhere ; generally 

 gregarious in belts or patches of greater or less extent. It is wanting in the 

 moister forests below and above Ghat on the west side of the Peninsula. In 

 Central India, the tree is known in Chanda, Berar, Khandeish, and Nimar, on 

 the eastern slopes of the Pachmarhis, near the Dhtidi river, and on the Singrow- 

 lie hills, south of the Soane river. Seed ripe April, May. 



An elegant tree, attaining 50-60, occasionally 120 ft., with a tall, straight, and 

 regularly shaped stem, and a narrow oval crown. Bark black, rough, with ex- 

 foliating scales. Young leaves tinged with red ; mature foliage dark green ; 

 branchlets slender, drooping. Easily raised from seed, and throws up strong 

 shoots from stumps. 



Sapwood small, whitish ; heartwood dark reddish brown, sometimes nearly 

 black, close- and fine-grained, strong, very hard and very heavy, weight 67-85 

 lb. per cub. ft., 100-120 lb. when green ; value of P. 942 (Skinner). Liable to 

 split, but does not warp, takes a fine polish, and is exceedingly durable. Used 

 for bridge- and house-posts, and for ornamental work. 



The bark yields a valuable fibre, which requires no preparation, is strong, 

 and is in places much used for cordage. Cattle are exceedingly fond of the 

 leaves. In the Cauvery forests, Northern Mysore, and Berar, the trees were 

 formerly, and are still to a great extent, pollarded for cattle-fodder. 





