HARDWICKIA 345 



The seedling (Fig. 141). 



Roots : primary root long, thin, terete, tapering, wiry : lateral roots 

 moderate in number, short to moderately long, thin, fibrous, distributed down 

 main root. Hypocotyl distinct from the root, 0-2-0-3 in. long, thick, fleshy, 

 tapering downwards, glabrous, subterranean or at ground-level. Cotyledons 

 on short thick petioles less than 0-1 in. long : lamina 1-1-1 -5 in. by 0-5-0 -9 in., 

 thin, somewhat fleshy, elliptical oblong or obovate, apex broad rounded 

 truncate or retuse, base sagittate, entire, glabrous, yellow turning green, 

 surface irregularly depressed. Stem erect, terete, zigzag at the nodes, slender, 

 wiry, glabrous, green, young parts red ; internodes 0-2-0-7 in. long. Leaves 

 alternate, bifoliate, at first small, the size increasing with successive leaves. 

 Stipules up to 0-25 in. long, ovate falcate, apex acute acuminate or rounded, 

 pale green turning brown. Common petiole 0-2-0-6 in. long, terete, wiry, 

 glabrous, green, that of young leaves red. Leaflets sub-sessile, 0-5-2-5 in. by 

 0-3-1-5 in., obliquely ovate or obscurely trapezoidal, apex rounded, base 

 obtuse, entire, coriaceous, glabrous, darker above than below, young leaves 

 red, arcuately 4- or 5-veined from the base. 



Mr. Witt ^ has recorded the results of observations on the development 

 of natural seedlings on a plot of ground at Khandwa in Nimar, where the 

 normal rainfall is 30 in., and the seedlings grew on dry sandy soil 6 to 18 in. 

 deep overlying hard murram soon passing into solid trap rock. These observa- 

 tions show that the seedlings, like those of the sal and of certain other species 

 in dry localities, die back annually for a series of years, the taproot gradually 

 developing until it reaches the moist layers of the subsoil and establishes itself 

 sufficiently to produce a permanent vigorous shoot which does not die back. 

 These observations indicate the following to be the stages of development of 

 a normal seedling in its natural habitat : 



First season. After germination, which takes place with the first heavy 

 downpour of the monsoon proper towards the end of June, the taproot develops 

 rapidly, attaining a length of about 5 to 6 in. within a week, the stem having 

 two leaves almost fully formed. One month from germination the taproots 

 of seven seedlings were dug up and found to vary from 8-38 to 16-1 in. in 

 length : an eighth seedling had a damaged taproot 6-5 in. long. A typical 

 seedling had four leaves fully developed and a fifth commencing to appear. 

 There is little or no development above ground after August, the normal 

 seedling by the end of the first season attaining a height of 5 to 6 in. with 

 about nine leaves, while the taproot ordinarily reaches a length of 12-20 in., 

 or even as much as 3 ft. or more if the depth of the soil permits. In this 

 connexion ' Old Ranger ' "^ writes : ' I have found young seedlings, of 6-9 

 months growth and only 3-4 in. high, the possessors of taproots 22-28 in. 

 long (actual measurements), the almost complete absence of side shoots being 

 very noticeable.' 



The taproot shows wonderful power of penetrating hard ground and 

 piercing what appears to be almost solid rock ; on shallow soil it twists and 

 turns in search of fissures. By the middle of October the seedlings commence 

 to die back, and by the middle of March, or February in dry seasons, not 

 a single green seedling is to be found, the stems all having died back partially 

 or completely though the taproots remain alive. 



Second season. With the following rainy season the seedlings come into 

 1 loc. cit., pp. 89-100. - Ind. Forester, xxxi (1905), p. 698. 



