628 XXXIII. RUBIACEAE 



SiLVicuLTURAL CHARACTERS. Except that the tree is known to be a strong 

 Ught-demander its silvicultural characters have not been studied in detail. 



Natural reproduction. Germination takes place during the rainy 

 season. Bare ground is favourable to germination and subsequent survival, 

 young seedlings being killed off in quantity where weeds are present. The 

 small seedlings are liable to be washed away by heavy rain during and after 

 germination, the seed is liable to destruction by insects, while the slow develop- 

 ment of the seedling and its sensitiveness to weeds, frost, and shade are all 

 contributory factors towards failure of natural reproduction, which explains 

 to some extent its comparative scarcity in many localities. 



Artificial reproduction. The artificial propagation of this tree is not 

 easy. Direct sowings are not very suitable owing to the liability of the seed 

 to be washed away and to the slow development of the seedling. Seed should 

 be sown in the nursery in April and May in porous sandy loam, and lightly 

 covered ; the seedlings begin to appear in about eight to ten days. The beds 

 require protection from heavy rain. The seedlings should be pricked out 

 when about two or three months old and protected from frost in the 

 winter. The more vigorous plants will be ready to plant out during the 

 following rainy season, but the smaller ones should be kept another year in 

 the nursery. Care is necessary to retain earth round the roots dialing trans- 

 planting, which may possibly be found more successful with the aid of long 

 baskets or bamboo tubes. 



Rate of growth. There are no detailed measurements available, but 

 a cross-section from the United Provinces in the silvicultural museum at Dehra 

 Dun had 41 rings for a girth of 3 ft. 11 in., giving a mean annual girth increment 

 of 1-15 in., which is fairly fast. 



6. WENDLANDIA, Bartl. 



Wendlandia exserta, DC. Vern. Chaulai, chila, Hind. 



A small deciduous or evergreen tree with greyish pubescent foliage, found 

 locally in the sub-Himalayan tract, outer Himalaya, Chota Nagpur, and parts 

 of the Indian Peninsula. It comes up gregariously on newly exposed ground, 

 particularly on landslips and abandoned cultivation ; the minute seeds appear 

 to require such ground for successful germination. The tree is a useful one 

 for reelothing bare hill slopes and clearings. It is strongly light-demanding. 

 The growth is fast : Gamble's specimens gave 4 to 5 rings per inch of radius, 

 or a mean annual girth increment of 1-26 to 1-57 in. 



7. GARDENIA, Linn. 



This genus contains about eleven Indian species of small trees or shrubs, 

 most of which are interesting as being common members of dry open types 

 of forest on poor ground on which many species are unable to exist. The wood 

 of these trees deserves to be better known as a substitute for boxwood, being 

 hard, close grained, and compact. The most widely distributed species is 

 G. turgida, Roxb., described below. The species best known in the Indian 

 Peninsula are G. lucida, Roxb., G. gnmmifera, Linn., and G. latifolia, Alton. 

 These are small trees or shrubs of xerophytic habit, growing on dry poor ground 



