656 



ORDER XXXVIII. OLEACEAE 



Genera 1. Fraxinus, Linn. ; 2. Olea, Linn. ; 3. Nyctanthes, Linn. ; 



4. SCHREBERA, Roxb. 



L FRAXINUS, Linn. 



Brandis {Indian Trees) enumerates five Indian species : (1) F. floribunda. 

 Wall., flowers with petals, appearing after the leaves ; Afghanistan, trans- 

 Indus, Himalaya, Khasi hills and Shan hills. (2) F. Griffithii, Clarke, flowers 

 with petals, appearing after the leaves ; Mishmi hills. (3) F. excelsior, Linn, 

 (including F. Hookeri, Wenzig), flowers without petals, appearing before the 

 leaves, leaflets two to four pairs, base entire, upper part slightly serrate ; 

 western Himalaya from the Ravi drainage westwards. (4) F. oxyphylla, 

 M. Bieb., similar to (3) but leaflets one to four pairs, coarselj^^ serrate ; Balu- 

 chistan, Afghanistan. (5) F. xanthoxyloides, Wall., syn. F. Moorcrojiiana, 

 Brandis, a shrub or small tree with very variable leaves, occurring in dry 

 situations in the western Himalaya, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan. 



Parker {Forest Flora for the Punjab), distinguishing between F . floribunda. 

 Wall., and F. 7nicrantha, Lingelsh. a very similar species except that the 

 flowers have no petals gives (1) F .floi'ibunda. Wall., Himalaya, Nepal, Assam ; 

 all the western Himalayan species he has seen belong to F . micrantha and not 

 to F. floribunda. (2) F. micrantha, Lingelsh., Himalaya 6,000-7,000 ft., 

 Kumaun to Bashahr and probably farther west ; he has, however, seen only 

 one Punjab specimen. 



Species 1. F. floribunda, Wall. ; 2. F. excelsior, Linn. ; 3. F. xanthoxy- 

 loides. Wall. 



1. Fraxinus floribunda, Wall. Indian ash. Vern. Sum, angu, W. Him. 



A large deciduous tree with opposite imparipinnate leaves ; leaflets usually 

 seven to nine, all with petiolules except the upper pair, which are sub-sessile. 

 Branchlets purple, compressed, glabrous, with white lenticels. Bark grey, 

 smooth on young poles, rough with deej) longitudinal furrows on older trees. 

 Wood pinkish white, moderately hard, tough, used for oars, shoulder-poles, &c. 



It is probable that many specimens termed F. floribunda in the forest are 

 in reality F. micrantha (see introduction to this genus). 



The Indian ash is found in the Himalayan region from Sikkim westwards 

 at 5,000-9,000 ft., in the Khasi hifls, and the Shan hills of Upper Burma at 

 4,000 ft. It is occasionally cultivated in the Himalaya at suitable elevations. 

 In the wild state the tree is by no means abundant, its distribution being- 

 somewhat local ; it is confined as a rule to rich moist soils and shady situations. 

 Mr. Fernandez ^ says that in the Naini Tal district it occurs generally in the 

 neighbourhood of limestone rocks, and that it seeds profusely and reproduces 

 fairly well on loose soil free from weeds. 



The tree is leafless in the winter. The flowers appear in April-May and 

 the fruits ripen in September-October. The seed lies dormant in the ground 

 for a whole year, and transplanting from the nursery is therefore better than 

 direct sowing. Seed may be sown in tM nursery in the autumn of ripening 



^ Naini Tal Working Plan. 



