466 XXIII. LEGUMINO.SAE 



falcate, variable in size, usually 2-5-4 in. long by 0-3-0-8 in. broad. True bipin- 

 nate leaves often present, especially on young trees. Flower-heads 3 to 4 in 

 axillary racemes, globose, yellow, about 0-2 in. in diameter. Pods linear, flat, 

 often curved in a circle, 2-4 in. long by 0-3-0-4 in. broad. Seed small, with 

 a long pale red funicle which encircles it. 



The timber is of very good quality, dark brown, beautifully mottled, and 

 is used in Australia for furniture, gunstocks, railway carriages, and other 

 purposes. In the Nilgiris there is little demand for it for such uses. Analyses 

 of Nilgiri bark at the Indian Institute of Science in 1912 gave 704 per cent, 

 of tannin. 



The tree is a native of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales, and 

 extends into South Australia and Queensland : it grows typically on rich soil. 

 It has been fairly extensively planted in the Nilgiris, where it does well on 

 fertile soil, but it is slowly dying out, partly owing to its susceptibility to the 

 attacks of a Loranthus, which kills off numbers of trees, and partly to the fact 

 that its coppicing powers are feeble. It reproduces by root -suckers, but not 

 to the same prolific extent as A. dealbata. On deep moist fertile soil its growth 

 is fairly rapid, as the figures quoted above show. Mr. D. E. Hutching found 

 in 1883 that trees in the Nilgiris gave about four rings per inch of radius and 

 an annual increment of about 5 to 6 tons of wood per acre. 



4. ALBIZZIA, Durazzini. 



This genus contains fourteen Indian species, all trees, some of which are 

 of importance in Indian silviculture. Perhaps the most characteristic feature 

 of the genus, as affecting the distribution of the seed, is the pod, which is thin, 

 flat, and dry, developing rapidly after the flowering, but taking some time to 

 ripen fully ; in most cases dehiscence does not take place fully until after the 

 pods fall, and as they fall chiefly in the hot season when dry winds are pre- 

 valent, they may be blown to some distance from the tree. In some cases, 

 especially in A. Lebbek, the seeds are very liable to destruction by insects, and 

 this probably explains to a considerable extent the absence of reproduction 

 where such damage is prevalent. Germination is epigeous. Some species 

 produce root-suckers freely, e. g. A. lucida, A. mollis, and A. odoratissima. 

 The growth of some is extremely rapid, e. g. A. moluccana. (not indigenous) 

 and A. stipulata. The species vary in soil moisture requirements from A. 

 procera, which thrives on moist and even swampy ground, to ^4. amara, which 

 grows on poor dry soils in the Indian Peninsula. 



Species 1. ^. Lebbek, Benth. ; 2. A. sfipnlafa, Boivin ; S. A. procera, Benth. ; 



4. A. odoratissima, Benth.; 5. A. lucida, Benth.; 6. A. amara, Boivin; 



7. A. mollis, Boivin; 8. A. moluccana, Miq. 



1. Albizzia Lebbek, Benth. Siris, East Indian walnut. Vern. Siris, 



Hind. ; Chichola, Mar. ; Sirsul, Kan. ; Dirasanam, Tel. ; Vagai. Tarn. ; 



Kokko, Burm. 



A moderate-sized or large deciduous tree ; bark dark grey, rather rough 



with irregular cracks, red or crimson inside. In the open the tree forms 



a short bole, branching low down, with a broad crown, but in the forest 



