350 XXIII. LEGUMINOSAE 



no doubt account in large measure for its gregariousness under adverse physical 

 conditions and its survival in spite of continuous maltreatment. The best 

 development is secured as a rule on geological formations such as sandstone, 

 gneiss, conglomerate, &c., which disintegrate into a porous sandy loam, rather 

 than on the stiff and usually shallow soil overlying trap ; on the latter forma- 

 tion, however, although development is poorer than on the former, gregarious- 

 ness is more pronounced. 



The great development of the taproot is maintained throughout the life 

 of the tree, as may be observed where the root-system is exposed by scouring 

 along the high banks of streams or the sides of ravines. On shallow soil witli 

 compact underlying rock the taproot may assume a gnarled and twisted form, 

 running for some distance horizontally not far below the surface ; in such 

 cases the trees are liable to be blown over in high winds. 



The tree is capable of standing a certain amount of shade in youth, and 

 even requires shelter in its young stages ; later it may be classed as a moderate 

 light-demander or partial shade-bearer, though Mr. Witt states : ^ ' Even the 

 moderate shade afforded by a mature tree of Bosivellia serrata is too dense 

 for an Anjan sapling to penetrate through, if once dominated. The very 

 flexible yielding shoot of an Anjan sapling may also account to some extent 

 for its inability to pierce overhead cover.' Mr. L. S. Osmaston - classes the 

 tree as a partial shade-bearer. 



In its natural habitat it is frost-hardy in all stages, being quite unaffected 

 by all ordinary frosts. Except in the seedling stage it is capable of standing 

 great heat and drought. ' This ', says Mr. Witt,^ ' was very noticeable in 

 Nimar during the droughts of 1901 and 1904. Whereas following these droughts 

 such species as Tectona grandis, Terminalia tomentosa, Lagerstroemia parvi flora, 

 Mangifera indica, and Buchanania latifolia suffered severely all over the 

 division, not only coppice being affected but also mature trees, in the case 

 of Anjan no damage whatever was done, even on the driest soils." The young 

 shoots are sensitive to fire, but the power of recovery is good ; ordinarily, 

 seedlings when burnt back send up new shoots from the root-coUum, but in 

 severe fires they may be killed outright. Young plants and coppice-shoots 

 suffer much from grazing, the leaves being browsed by deer as well as by 

 cattle and goats ; buffaloes especially are partial to them. A grazing incidence 

 which hardly affects a teak forest will prevent young Hardwickia plants from 

 making any headway. In heavily grazed areas the plants assume a charac- 

 teristic bushy form (see Fig. 139). 



The tree pollards well even up to a comparatively advanced age, and 

 old po'Jards when re-pollarded almost invariably produce abundant new 

 shoots : indeed, a special feature of the existing Hardwickia forests is the 

 large number of pollarded trees, the result of lopping for fodder and manure 

 (see Fig. 140). On the other hand, the tree coppices indifferently. Old trees 

 which send out vigorous pollard-shoots if cut a few feet above the ground 

 produce no coppice-shoots if cut flush with the ground : old pollards when 

 felled at ground-level never coppice. In some localities a moderate amount 

 of success has been attained by felling at 12 to 18 in. from ground-level. 



J loc. cit., p. 85. - Ind. Forester, xxxv (1909), p. 380, ^ /^f ^.,7^ p gi 



