



430 LXVII. URTICACEiE. [Sponia. 



5, longer than perianth. Fruit a minute drupe, supported by the persis- 

 tent perianth, and crowned, while half ripe, by 2 short stigmatose styles. 



Leaves rough on "both sides, oblong-lanceolate ; male cymes com- 

 pact, as long as petiole 1. S. politoria. 



Leaves soft-tomentose beneath, ovate ; cymes spreading, longer 



than petiole 2. 8. orientalis. 



1. S. politoria, Planch. ; DC. Prodr. xvii. 202. Syn. Celtis politoria, 

 "Wall. Vern. Bantamman, kanglu, khuri, Pb. ; Jdun, khasaroa, mdrni, 

 bdtu, N.W.P. ; Banharria, Oudh ; Khdksi, Nepal. 



A small tree with short trunk and bifarious exceedingly rough leaves, 

 branchlets rough with long hard white hairs. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, 

 with almost equal-sided base, 2-5 in. long, penniveined, serrate, pale be- 

 neath, rough on both sides with scattered hairs and the raised base of 

 numerous fallen hairs, main lateral nerves arcuate, 4-6 pair, the lowest 

 pair from near the base of leaf, petiole \ in. long ; stipules deciduous, 

 longer than petiole. Cymes of male flowers as long as petiole, of female 

 flowers a little longer than petiole. 



Salt range. Siwalik tract and outer hills from the Chenab to Nepal. Abun- 

 dant in the Oudh forests in dry sandy or stony places. Sikkim, Central Pro- 

 vinces. The leaves are renewed in March and April. Fl. April-June. Attains 

 15 ft. and a girth of 12 in., with a few spreading branches. Bark \ in. thick, 

 greenish-white, or reddish-brown, smooth or with longitudinal wrinkles, inner 

 bark red, viscid, fibrous. Wood reddish nut-brown, fibrous and elastic, with a 

 moderately close-grain (R. T.) The leaves are as hard as sand-paper and are 

 used to polish wood and horn. 



2. S. orientalis, Planch. ; DC. Prodr. xvii. 200. Syn. Celtis orien- 

 talis, Linn. ; Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 65. Probably not different from Sponia 

 Wightii, PI. ; Wight Tc. 1. 1971 ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 311. Indian Nettle- 

 tree, Charcoal-tree. Yern. Badu manu, C.P. ; Gol, Bombay. 



A small rapidly growing and short-lived tree with pubescent branchlets. 

 Leaves ovate, acuminate, 3-nerved, obtusely serrate, base unequal-sided, 

 cordate, soft-tomentose beneath, and more or less rough on the upper side, 

 midrib with 3-4 pairs of main lateral nerves ; stipules deciduous, as long as 

 petioles of young leaves. Cymes lax, spreading, considerably longer than 

 petiole. Stigmas covered with long threads. Drupe black when ripe. 



Nepal, Bengal, Satpura range (not common), South India, Ceylon. Forms 

 part of the secondary growth where the evergreen forest has been cleared in 

 Western Mysore and Coorg. Has been planted in Wynaad for shade in 

 coffee plantations, where the original forest had been imprudently cleared away. 

 Fl. April- June (the greater part of the year, Roxb.) Attains 30 ft. with an 

 erect short trunk, 2-3 ft. girth. Bark dark grey or blackish, smooth. The 

 inner bark is tough and strong. 



JS. velutina, Planch. ; Benth. Fl. Hongkong. 324, branchlets and under side 

 of leaves soft-pubescent. China, Indian Archipelago, Burma, Bengal ; is pro- 

 bably not specifically distinct. 



