BIJA SAL OR VENGAI. 



Pterocarfus Marsupium, Hoxb. 



Natural Order Leguminosge (Papilionacese) . 



1. General Distribution. 



The eastern limit of this tree is 88 longitude, and the western 72 C , 

 but it hardly occurs to the north-west of a line joining Baroda and 

 Shahjehanpur, and is principally a tree of the Peninsula. In Ceylon the 

 tree is stated by Prain to occur in the central parts of the island. It 

 does not occur in Assam, Burma, and the Punjab, and was formerly much 

 commoner in Central and Southern India than it is now. Further details 

 are given under the various provinces. 



In Ceylon it is fairly common in dry and intermediate regions up to 

 3,000 feet, and rarer in the moist region on open grass land, and is called 

 Gammalu. 



2. Locality and Habit. 



The tree is found in deciduous forests at all heights between sea- 

 level and 3,000 feet, but is commonest between 500 and 1,500 feet and 

 is rare at the lower levels. It prefers north and west aspects on hilly 

 ground and grows best on a sandy or slightly clayey loam, with bamboo, 

 Albizzias, Terminalias, Anogeissus, and Sal, reaching a height of 100 feet 

 and a girth of 8 feet in the best localities of Chanda, and as much as 16 

 feet occasionally in Southern India. It is a tall tree, often not very 

 straight, with a rather open leafy crown, the leaves being compound 

 with five to seven alternate leaflets which are 3 to 5 inches long. 

 The \ellow or white flowers appear towards the end of the rains, and the 

 new leaves at the end of the hot weather, but the tree is leafless for a 

 very short time only. Several varieties have been distinguished by Prain, 

 described in his report written in 1900 (Inspector-General of Forests' 

 Proceedings for September 1900). Foulkes in "Notes on Timber Trees 

 of South Kanara" says i" Grows in laterite when there is plenty of 



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