WRIGHTIA 669 



Leaf-shedding, flowering, and fruiting. The leaves fall during 

 January and early February, and the trees are leafless during February, 

 March, and part of April, the new leaves appearing in April-May. The 

 yellowish white flowers, udth red coronal scales, in corymbose cymes, appear 

 from April to June. The fruit consists of two connate many-seeded folHcles 

 joined into a single pendulous grooved cylindrical pod 6-12 in. long and 0-5- 

 0-7 in. thick, rough with white specks ; the follicles sef)arate before dehiscing. 

 The fruits are usually full-sized by August, but do not ripen and dehisce until 

 from Jglnuary to March or even April. The seeds (Fig. 256, a) are 0-5-0-7 in. 

 long, Unear, light yellowish grey, crowned with a tuft of white silky hairs by 

 the aid of which they are disseminated by the wind : about 1,500-1,700 seeds 

 weigh 1 oz. Fresh seeds have a high percentage of fertility, but if kef)t for 

 a year they lose their vitahty. 



Germination (Fig. 256, b-e). Epigeous. The radicle emerges from the 

 end of the seed and the hypocotyl elongates, carrying above ground the 

 cotyledons enclosed in the testa. The cotyledons, which are convolute in the 

 seed, unroll themselves and expand, and the testa then falls to the ground, 

 or clings to the edge of one cotyledon for some little time before falling. 



The seedling (Fig. 256). 



Roots : primary long, terete, wiry, flexuose : lateral roots numerous, 

 fibrous, distributed down main root. Hypocotyl distinct from root, terete, 

 tapering slightly upwards, finely pubescent. Cotyledons : petiole 0-1 in. long, 

 flattened above, finely pubescent : lamina 0-6-O-8 in. by 0-5-0-7 in., foliaceous, 

 slightly fleshy, cordate, acute, entire, green, glabrous above, minutely pubescent 

 beneath, convolute in the seed. Stem erect, terete, tomentose ; internodes 

 0-4-0-8 in. long. Leaves on main stem opposite, sub-opposite or alternate, 

 exstipulate. Petiole up to 0-1 in. long, finely tomentose. Lamina 0-8-2-5 in. 

 by 0-5-0-8 in., ovate- or elliptical-lanceolate, acuminate, entire, finely tomentose 

 on both surfaces, lateral veins 5-10 pairs. 



Under natural conditions the growth of the seedling during the first season 

 is moderate, a height of about 3-10 in. being attained : subsequently the 

 growth is more rapid provided it is not interfered with by weeds, which exercise 

 an adverse influence on the development of the young plant. Weeding and 

 watering stimulate rapid growth from the commencement, seedhngs regularly 

 weeded and watered at Dehra Dun having reached a height of as much as 

 3 ft. 5 in. to 3 ft. 10 in. by the end of the first season. These vigorous plants, 

 whose further growth is recorded below, produced flowers, from which no 

 fruits developed, at the end of the second season, while at the end of the third 

 season flowers were produced which resulted in the formation of fertile 



fruits. 



The seedhngs are decidedly sensitive to frost, but though hable to be 

 killed back they have good power of recovery. In northern India the season's 

 growth ceases about October-November, new growth starting in March-April ; 

 the leaves commence falling in October-November and the seedlings are leafless 

 from December to March. 



The folloAving measurements in experimental plots at Dehra Dun give 

 some indication of the rate of growth of young plants and the beneficial effect 

 of weeding : 



