372 LXI. POLYGONE^E. [Calligonum 



Stamens perigynous or subhypogynous, usually 6, 9, 10, rarely more, 

 alternate with the perianth-lobes when 1 -seriate. Ovary usually free, 

 compressed or trigonous, rarely 4-gonous, 1 -celled, with a solitary erect 

 ovule. Fruit a 1-seeded nut. Seed albuminous ; albumen farinaceous. 

 Eoyle 111. 313. 



Stamens 10-20 ; nut setose or echinate . . . .1. Calligonum. 

 Stamens 6-8 ; nut smooth, enclosed within the accrescent 



inner perianth-leaves Atraphaxis (p. 373). 



1. CALLIGONUM, Linn. 



Nearly leafless, much-branched shrubs. Flowers hermaphrodite. Peri- 

 anth 5-partite, scarcely or not at all accrescent. Stamens 10 or more. 

 Styles 4 ; stigmas capitate. Nuts subtetragonous, with numerous closely 

 forking setee disposed in 8-16 vertical series. 



1. C. polygonoides, Linn. ; DC. Prodr. xiv. 29. Syn. C. comosum, 

 L'Heritier in Trans. Linn. Soc. i. 180. Vern. Balanja, bericaja, tatuke, 

 Afg. ; Phok, phog, Pb., Sindh and Shekhawatti (flowers pJwgali). 



A glabrous, almost leafless shrub, with numerous branches, which are 

 grey or reddish grey, flexuose and twisted, branchlets often fascicled, 

 green and shining when young, internodes 1-2 in. long. Stipules short, 

 sheathing, thinly membranous, transparent. Leaves scarce, subulate, very 

 small. Flowers small, numerous, on filiform pedicels, in fascicles of 2-5 

 from the axils of the sheathing stipules. Perianth deciduous, deeply cleft 

 into 5 thin obtuse membranous segments, red with broad white edges, 

 the 2 outer somewhat smaller. Stamens 10, filaments dilated and pubes- 

 cent at base. Nuts oblong, -J in. long, densely covered with long filiform, 

 twice or thrice dichotomously branching setae, J- in. long, placed in 8-16 

 longitudinal lines, their base thickened and confluent so as to form, irregu- 

 larly-shaped crests. 



Common locally in the more arid parts of the Panjab plains, both cis- and 

 trans-Indus, north as far as Lahore. Abundant west of Mozaflergarh, where 

 it constitutes in places half the larger vegetation, the other half consisting 

 of Salvadora oleoides. Sindh all along the base of the hills. One of the most 

 abundant and characteristic plants of the Bikanir desert. North-East Afghan- 

 istan, ascending to 5000 ft. Persia, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Algeria. Grows gen- 

 erally in groups or clumps, often on hummocks, generally a small shrub 3-4 

 ft. high, but when old, often arborescent, 12-15 ft. high, stems 2-3 ft. girth, with 

 spreading branches. The young shoots come out about Feb., March, and the 

 shrub is soon after covered with small pinkish flowers, filling the air with a strong 

 pleasant odour, as of over-ripe strawberries. The fruit ripens about June. The 

 bark of stem is whitish or reddish-grey, rough with broad, shallow furrows, inner 

 substance red. The wood is red, with a tinge of brown, often mottled, fibrous 

 and hard. Heartwood distinct, of darker colour. In the Panjab it is only 

 used as fuel, but in Bikanir twigs and branches are much employed for walls 

 and roofs of huts. Most old stems are hollow, even those under 4 in. diam. 

 The abortive flowers, which fall in great numbers, are (in the South Panjab, and 

 sometimes in Sindh) swept up, made into bread, or cooked with ghee, and eaten. 

 The shoots and branchlets are eagerly browsed by goats and camels. 





