706 XLVI. VERBENACEAE 



black cotton soil. On trap areas teak is often very plentiful, though of small 

 size. In some localities it attains a fair size on the Vindhyan" limestone and 

 sandstone or on alluvial ground near rivers. Teak is not ordinarily found 

 with sal, but occasionally the two occur mixed, for example in the Bilaspur 

 district, where there is a small area of teak mixed with sal poles near Deosara 

 in the West Lormi range. The requirements of the two species differ, teak 

 seeking good subsoil drainage combined with a fair rainfall, and sal seeking 

 the more hygroscopic soils. 



Teak is one of the constituents of the mixed deciduous forests which are 

 so typical of the Central Provinces. Its chief companions are Tertninalia 

 tomentosa, T . belerica, Lagerslroemia parviflora, Ougeinia dalbergioides, Ano- 

 geissus latifolia, Dalbergia lalifolia, D. paniculata, Pterocarjju^ Marsupium, 

 Diospyros Melanoxylon, Acacia Catechu, Chloroxylon Swietenia, Soymida 

 fchrifuga, Schleichera trijuga, Schrcbera swietenioides, Gmelina arhorea, Cleia- 

 ianthus collirius, Odina Wodier, Cassia Fistula, Bridelia retusa, Adina cordifolia, 

 Stephegyne parvifolia, Butea frondosa, Bassia latifolia, Phyllanthus Eniblica, 

 Buchanania latifolia, Xylia xylocarpa (in Chanda), and Boswellia serrata (in 

 dry places and on ridges). The prevailing bamboo in teak-bearing forest is 

 Dendrocalamus strictus, but occasionally Bambusa arundinacea is found on 

 alluvial flats by rivers. The type and quality of the forest, and the actual 

 companions found with the teak, vary according to local conditions. In the 

 great majority of cases the teak is of comparatively small size, and it has 

 often suffered from past maltreatment in the shape of lopping, grazing, and 

 burning, in consequence of which many trees are unsound or misshapen. 



The largest teak in the Central Provinces is produced in South Chanda, 

 in which the most important forests are those of Allapilli in the Ahiri range, 

 forming a compact block about 73 square miles in area and situated about 

 70 miles south of Chanda. The north-west and central parts of this tract are 

 flat or undulating, the remainder being hilly, the Bhimaram hills in the south- 

 west rising to 1,600 ft. above sea-level. The rock is metamorphic, chiefly 

 granitic ; the soil is a rich light loam, but is shallow and rocky on the hill 

 ridges. The rainfall is about 50 in. The forests of the Bhimaram hills are 

 characterized by a plentiful growth of bamboo {Dendrocalamus strictus). Teak 

 is the most plentiful tree species, the forest consisting in many places of large 

 teak trees standing between bamboo clumps, with scattered individuals of 

 Dalbergia latifolia, Pterocarpus Marsupium, and Stephegyne parvifolia, while 

 Schleichera trijuga is common in the valleys. At the base of the hills and in 

 the valleys the forest is more varied, the teak being associated with Terminalia 

 tomentosa, jStephegync parinfolia, Adina cordifolia, Diospyros Melanoxyloti, 

 Anogeissus latifolia, Odina Wodier, Xylia xylocariM, Holarrhcna antidysenterica, 

 Butea frondosa, Cleistanthus collinus, and others. These species extend to the 

 Bhimaram jjlains forests, where teak greatly predominates, and to the Mirkullu 

 block, though the hilly portions of the latter are occupied by a very dense 

 growth of bamboo, the result of former shifting cultivation. 



Another interesting teak forest in the Central Provinces is the Bori forest 

 in the Hoshangabad district. This forest is situated in a deep valley at an 

 average elevation of 1,450 ft. above sea-level, through which runs the Bori 

 river ; this valley is enclosed on the north by a scarped ridge rising to 3,777 ft.. 



