DR. G. BIRDWOOD ON THE GENUS BOSWELLIA. 143 
infested by mosquitos, as by a plague; and I was often asked how to get rid of them, 
and always answered that the ugly and irreverent punkahs were of no use, and that 
the only remedy was the immemorial and most beautiful rite of burning frankincense. A 
pot of holy basil is placed before every Hindu home; and the mother of the house may 
be seen every morning, after having ground the corn for the day, and performed her simple 
toilet, walking round and round the four-horned altar, on which the pot of holy basil 
is set, invoking the blessings of heaven on the father of her children and on them. 
DESCRIPTIO. 
Genus BoswELLIA. 
Roxburgh, Pl. Corom. iii. p. 4, t. 207; Benth. & Hook. Gen. Plant. i. p. 322. [Libanus, Colebrooke in 
As. Res. ix. p. 377, t. 5. f. 1. Plüsslia, Endlicher, Nov. Stirp. Dec. 47 ; Iconog. t. 119, 120.) 
Calyx parvus, plerumque 5- interdum 6- non sspe 7-, rarissime 4- v. 10-dentatus, persistens. Petala 
tot quot calycis divisiones, basi angustata, patentissima, imbricata. Discus annularis, crenatus, 
campanulatus v. explanatus. Stamina sepalis duplo numerosiora, plerumque 10, brevia, basi disci 
inserta, alterna interdum breviora. Ovarium 3-, creberrime 4-, interdum 5-loculare; stylus brevis, 
stigmate 3-, 4- v. 5?-lobo; ovula in loculis 2, pendula. Drupa 3-, 4-, 5-gona, 3-, 4-, 5-valvis, 
valvis a pyrenis secedentibus ; pyrenis osseis, 1-spermis, ab axi persistente solutis. Semina compressa, 
pendula, margine membranaceo, testa membranacea; cotyledones contortuplicate, multifide ; radi- 
cula supera. 
Arbores cortice sæpe papyraceo, thuriferæ. Folia decidua, apices versus ramulorum conferta, patentia, 
alterna, imparipinnata, foliolis oppositis, serratis v. integerrimis. Racemi v. panicule axillares v. 
terminales, simplices v. compositi. Flores albi, v. rubicundi, v. virides, v. vix luteoli, v. cerei. 
Species 5, Nubiæ, Abyssiniæ, Berberæ, Arabis, Indiæque incolæ. 
Sectio I. Plante plus minus pubescentes, disco campanulato. 
Subsectio a. Racemi simplices. | 
1. BoswELLIA CARTERI, Birdwood, n. sp. (Tab. XXIX. et XXX.) 
Diacnosts.—Ramuli terminales, pubescentes vel tomentosi ; foliola 7-10-juga, ovato-oblonga, undulata vel 
crenato-undulata, late rotundata vel basi truncata. Racemi simplices, fasciculati, foliis breviores. 
Fructus 1 ad 4 poll. longus, obovato-obtusus. 
Carter, Journ. Bombay Br. Roy. As. Soc. ii. 1847. B. thurifera, Colebrooke ? 
Habitat in montibus Soumali, * Mohr Madow” incolarum, Playfair ; et in montibus Hadramaut in Arabia, 
* Maghrayt d'sheehaz " apud Maharas, Carter. 
Descriptio.—Arbor parva; petiolus pubescens; foliola au lata. 
pubescentia, aut obscure serratula vel integerrima et glabra supra, et velutina interdum- 
que pallidiora infra, longa circa 14 poll. et lata circa 2 poll., foliolo terminali sepe gran- 
diore. Corolla patens, petala alba vel cerea, discus roseus, ovarium disco carnoso roseo 
arcte adpresso semiimmersum. 
Remarks.—The above description is taken from the specimens of leaves collected for 
Playfair from the * Mohr Madow " of the Soumalis, and the young plants growing in 
_ VOL. XXVII. : U 
t crenato-undulata et omnia 
