286 XLVII. MYRSINE^E. [Myrsine. 



2. M. capitellata, Wall, j Fl. Ind., ed. Carey, ii. 295 j Tent. Fl. Nep. 

 t. 25 ; Wight Ic. t. 1211 ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 234. 



A small or moderate-sized glabrous tree. Leaves coriaceous, lanceo- 

 late elliptic- or obovate-oblong, 3-7 in. long, gradually narrowed into a 

 short, marginate petiole, entire, with resinous dots near the edge, midrib 

 prominent, lateral nerves numerous, slender, parallel, indistinct. Flowers 

 polygamous, greenish, with copious minute, elevated, resinous, brown dots ; 

 on short pedicels, in lateral rounded heads, sessile, or on short woody 

 peduncles, axillary, or on the previous year's wood. Calyx small, per- 

 sistent. Corolla-tube short, lobes oblong, recurved. Anthers oval, partly 

 exserted. Stigma blunt or 2-lobed. Drupe globose, ^ in. diam. 



Mountains of South- Western India and Ceylon, Burma, and Eastern Bengal. 

 Nepal. Fl. and fr. Dec-March. The fruit is eaten ; wood similar to that of 

 M. semiserrata. 



3. M. africana, Linn. Syn. M. bifaria, Wall. Vern. ShamsJidd, 

 Afg. ; Bebrang, kakJium, kokhuri, karuk, gicgul, jutru, chachri, prdtshu, 

 branchu, khushin, pdpri, bandaru, Innsm, atulgdn, Pb. ; Guvaini, pahdri 

 cha (hill tea), chilpra, N.W.P. 



A shrub; branchlets, petioles, and lower part of midrib pubescent 

 with short, ferruginous hairs. Leaves bifarious, coriaceous, lanceolate 

 or obovate, narrowed into a very short petiole, J-l in. long, sharply ser- 

 rate, the serratures cuspidate, midrib prominent ; main lateral nerves few, 

 inconspicuous, anastomosing by reticulate veins. Flowers small, white, 

 with a pale pink tint, dotted with brown resinous dots, male and bisexual, 

 tetrandrous, nearly sessile, in axillary fascicles of 4-6. Anthers oblong, 

 purple, twice the length of the corolla. Style short ; stigma large, flat, 

 verrucose. Drupes solitary, globose, red, smooth, -^ in. diam. 



Common in N.E. Afghanistan and the hills trans-Indus, in the Salt range, 

 and the outer Himalaya from 2500 to 8500 ft., extending eastward into Nepal. 

 Abyssinia, Cape of Good Hope. Fl. March-May ; fr. Jan. -Nov. Attains 20 

 ft., branching from the ground. Bark grey, with numerous elevated specks, 

 and shallow longitudinal wrinkles, occasionally a whitish pellicle peeling off. 

 Well worth trying for garden-hedges. The wood is used for fuel ; the fruit is 

 sold in the bazaars of North- West India under the name of Bebrang. 



4. ABDISIA, Linn. 



Trees shrubs or undershrubs. Flowers larger than in other Myrsi- 

 nacece, in umbels or short corymbs, axillary or terminal, solitary, or form- 

 ing branched panicles. Calyx free, 5-lobed. Corolla deeply 5-lobed, 

 lobes spreading or reflexed, convolute in bud, tube very short. Stamens 

 5 ; filaments short ; anthers erect, lanceolate, appendiculate at the top ; 

 base emarginate or bifid. Ovary 1 -celled ; style subulate, usually long 

 and persistent, the stigma not enlarged; ovules generally 6-12. Fruit 

 fleshy, globose, 1 -seeded. 



Flowers in axillary corymbs shorter than leaf . . 1. A. humxlis. 

 Flowers in terminal panicles . . . . .2. A. floribunda. 



