Lawsonia.] XXXVIII. LYTHRARIE.E. 239 



plant. Probably indigenous in North Africa, Arabia, and Persia. Cultivated 

 in most tropical and subtropical countries. Fl. throughout the year. Grown 

 from seed and cuttings. The leaves are powdered and made into a paste which 

 is used to dye nails, skin, and beard. Regarding its cultivation in the Amballa 

 district, see Edgeworth Jour. As. Soc. vii. 754. 



3. LAGERSTRGSMIA, Linn. 



Trees and shrubs ; leaves opposite or the uppermost alternate, petio- 

 late, oblong or ovate, entire. Flowers in axillary or terminal panicles. 

 Calyx-tube short, broadly turbinate, cleft into 6 ovate lobes. Petals 6, 

 inserted between the calyx-lobes, clawed. Stamens numerous, inserted 

 at the bottom of the calyx-tube ; filaments long exserted, filiform \ anthers 

 versatile. Ovary sessile, 3-6-celled ; style filiform ; ovules numerous, 

 attached to axile placentas. Fruit an oblong, coriaceous capsule, girt at 

 the base by the persistent calyx, 3-6-celled, dehiscing loculicidally into 

 3-6 valves ; dissepiments and placentae attached to the middle of the 

 valves. Seeds winged, with a membranous testa ; cotyledons orbicular ; 

 radicle cylindrical. 



1. L. parviflora, Roxb. Cor. PL t. GQ ; FL Ind. ii. 505 ; Bedd. Fl. 

 Sylv. t. 31 ; W. & A. Prodr. 308. Vern. Bakli, dhaura, Kat dhaura : 

 N.W.P. ; Lendia, leindia, seina^C.F. ; Sidda, asid, Oudh and Mirzapore 

 district ; Shej, Banda ; Kakria, Mhrio, Banswara and Guzerat. 



A large tree, glabrous, only youngest branches and leaves slightly 

 pubescent. Leaves coriaceous, opposite, sessile or very shortly petiolate, 

 oblong or ovate, with 6-10 prominent, arcuate lateral main nerves on either 

 side of midrib. Flowers white, fragrant, J in. across, on slender pedicels 

 in panicles, few or many flowered. Calyx even, not ribbed, pubescent, 

 the 6 outer stamens much longer than the rest. Capsule ovoid or cylin- 

 drical, f-f- in. long, 3-4-celled. Seed with a terminal wing, longer than 

 seed, the whole J in. long, J in. broad in the middle, with a straight thin 

 edge on the inside, and a thick curved bark on the outside. 



Common in Central India, Bandelkhand, Behar, Bengal, the Oudh forests, 

 and the sub-Himalayan tract to the Jumna, ascending to 3000, and occasionally 

 to 5000 ft. Banswara, Guzerat. South India (frequent in Mysore and on the 

 east side). The old leaves shed in March, April, the young foliage comes out 

 in May. Fl. April- June ; fruit ripens in August, and remains long on the tree. 



In North and Central India attains 50-70 ft., and a girth of 6-8 ft., with a 

 straight clean stem, often 30-40 ft. to the first branch. Grows well from seed, 

 coppices readily, the shoots growing rapidly into tall straight poles. Bark |-1 

 in. thick, light ash-coloured, almost white, even, smooth, rarely marked with 

 few shallow furrows, flaking off in dark-coloured scurfy pieces, leaving exposed 

 the inner lighter-coloured layers. Wood light brown or yellowish, often with 

 a reddish tinge, and mottled, smooth- and even-grained. Heartwood darker, 

 but not sharply defined. Pores large ; numerous whitish wavy concentric bands 

 in the wood ; annual rings not distinct. The cub. ft. weighs 40-50 lb. Elas- 

 tic, tough, and of great transverse strength. Seasons well, works freely, and 

 takes a fine polish. Fairly durable. Used extensively, and valued highly for 

 ploughs and other agricultural implements, and for construction. Buggy-shafts 



