460 LXX. BETULACEiE. [Alnus. 



indurated, woody, persistent in fruit, covered before maturity by a waxy 

 or resinous substance. Nuts with a membranous or coriaceous wing, or 

 unwinged. 



Branchlets glabrous ; fruit catkins numerous in large erect pani- 

 cles 1. A. nepalensis. 



Branchlets pubescent ; fruit catkins 3-5 in short erect racemes . 2. A. nitida. 



1. A. nepalensis, D. Don; Wall. PL As. Ear. t. 131. Vern. Kohl, 

 koe, Pb. ; Udis, udish, wusta, N.W.P. ; Boshi swa, Nepal. 



A moderate-sized tree ; branchlets glabrous. Leaves coriaceous, glabrous, 

 with tufts of hairs in the axils of lateral nerves, elliptic, acute, entire or 

 indistinctly denticulate, blade 4-6, petiole f in. long ; main lateral nerves 

 14-18 pair. Flowers appearing after the leaves. Catkins paniculate or 

 racemose. Male catkins subsessile, slender, 4-10 in. long, numerous, 

 in large terminal pedunculate drooping panicles ; each bract with 6-1 2 

 anthers on short filaments, more or less distinctly separated by ciliate 

 scales into several 2-4-androus flowers ; anther-cells connate. Female 

 catkins \ in. long, pendulous in flower ; perianth-leaves and stamens 

 10-12, in lateral racemes or racemose panicles. Fruit catkins ovoid or 

 subcylindric, short-pedicellate, J-l in. long, in erect lateral panicles. 

 Wings of fruit membranous, narrow, often broader at the top, somewhat 

 irregular. 



Himalaya, extending west to the Ravi, between 3000 and 9000 ft. Kasia 

 hills. Mixed forests, often in ravines, or fringing the banks of streams. Fl. 

 Oct.-Dec. ; the fruit ripens in winter, and remains long on the tree. Attains 

 50-60 ft., with an erect, straight trunk and a shady crown. Bark thick, com- 

 pact, outside purplish or yellowish silvery, somewhat resembling the bark of 

 birch. Wood pale brownish-red, with large very distinct reddish-brown medul- 

 lary rays. The bark, exported to the plains imder the name of Utis, is used 

 for tanning and dyeing. 



2. A. nitida, Endl. Tab. LVIL Vern. Gira, Afg. ; Shrol, srol, 

 saroli, sawdli, rikunra, chamb, chaap, chapu, tsapu, pldk, kunsa, kundash, 

 niu, Pb. Himalaya ; Bajdn, rajdin, Pb. plains. 



A large tree ; current year's petioles and branches pubescent. Leaves 

 subcoriaceous, glabrous, with tufts of hairs in the axils of lateral nerves 

 beneath, ovate, acuminate, more or less distinctly dentate ; blade 4-6, 

 petiole 1-1 J in. long; main lateral nerves 8-12 pair. Flowers appearing 

 after the leaves; catkins racemose. Male catkins short - pedicellate, 

 drooping, 2 in. long, 4-6 in terminal erect bracteate, and at the base often 

 leaf-bearing racemes. Anthers sessile, densely crowded, so that the 

 arrangement into distinct flowers cannot be traced ; anther-cells nearly 

 distinct. Fruit catkins ovoid or cylindric, on short stalks, f-lj in. long, 

 3-5 in erect lateral racemes. Fruit with a narrow coriaceous edge. 



Common in the Panjab Himalaya, ascending to 9000 ft., and not uncommon 

 along the banks of the main rivers some distance into the plains. On the Sutlej, 

 its upper limit is Spui on the right, and Namgia on the left bank. Pabur and 



