538 XXVII. COMBRETACEAE 



2. ANOGEISSUS, Wall. 



This genus contains three well-defined Indian species ; A. sericea, Brandis, 

 which occurs in parts of the Central Provinces and in the Panch Mahals, is 

 possibly not distinct from A. acuminata, Wall. The fruit is small, dry, two- 

 winged, terminating in a beak formed by the persistent calyx-tube ; the 

 fruits are clustered in small globose heads. One of the chief peculiarities of 

 this genus is the infertility of the seed, in spite of which natural reproduction 

 often appears in great quantity, resulting in the case of A. lafi folia and 

 A. pendula in gregariousness. This question is discussed in dealing with 

 A. latifolia ; it has been suggested that fertile seed is produced in quantity 

 only in certain years, and that the cause of this is climatic. 



Species 1. A. latifolia, Wall.; 2. A. pendula, Edgw. ; 3. A. acumiiiata. 

 Wall. 



1. Anogeissus latifolia, Wall. Syn. Conocarpus latifolia, DC, Vern. 

 DJmura, dhau, dhawa, bdkli. Hind. ; Dindal, dinduga, Kan. ; Vellay naga. 

 Tarn. ; Chiriman, Tel. (Fig. 205.) 



A moderate-sized to large deciduous tree with a somewhat feathery 

 rounded crown and di'ooping branchlets. Bark thin, smooth, greenish or 

 greyish white, exfoliating in irregular thin rounded scales which leave shallow 

 depressions ; the outer layer contains chlorophyll. The bark sheds rapidly, 

 and rings of paint often disappear within two or three years of being 

 applied. 



The tree seldom attains very large dimensions, a girth of more than 6 ft. 

 not being common. Mr. T. Carr recorded a sound tree 9 ft. 3 in. in girth in 

 the Sarda range of the Haldwani forest division. United Provinces. A cross- 

 section without bark in the silvicultural museum at Dehra Dun measures 

 8 ft. 9 in. in circumference ; this was cut from a tree in the United 

 Provinces. 



The wood, which is hard, very strong, and tough, is used for cart-axles, 

 shoulder-poles, axe-handles, furniture, agricultural implements, poles and 

 rafters, boat-building, and other purposes. The leaves are rich in tannin, 

 and are collected for tanning purposes ; the bark is also used for tanning, and 

 yields a gum much used in calico-printing. Apart from its economic uses 

 the tree is useful silviculturally in clothing dry hill-sides, and is an important 

 constituent in certain dry types of forest. 



Distribution and habitat. Throughout the sub-Himalayan tract and 

 outer hills from the Ravi to Nepal, ascending to 4,000 ft., Bihar, Chota Nagpur, 

 Central India, and southwards throughout the greater part of the Indian 

 Peninsula, ascending the hills of southern India to 4,000 ft. ; also in the dry 

 country of Ceylon. Not in eastern Bengal, Assam, or Burma. 



The tree is characteristic of deciduous forests, usually of a dry type, but 

 is also common in sal forest and in other types of moderately moist forest. 

 In the outer Himalaya it often marks a distinct zone towards the upper limit 

 of the low-level species, at about 2,500-4,000 ft. ; here it is gregarious, forming 

 almost pure crops or mixed with Bauhinia retusa and a few other species. 

 In the JSiwalik hills it occurs gregariously in the same way on sandstone and 

 conglomerate, the chief species associated with it being Buchanania latifolia, 



