THE POISONOUS PLANTS OF BOMBAY. 89 



not milky, but thickisli and resinous, of a slightly brownish tinge, 

 blackening on exposure. " From the bark," says Baillon,* " oozes a 

 yellowish hard resin, having almost the appearance of yellow amber, 

 the Cashew-gum (Fr. Gomme d'Anacarde) soluble, and used for nearly 

 the same purposes as gum-arabic." This shows that the resinous 

 exudation from the bark does not possess any irritant properties. I 

 may observe, however, that in the plants I have examined in the Thana 

 district, I have not been able to notice any such yellow amber-coloured 

 resinous exudations on the bark. There is a gummy exudation from 

 the bark, but it is not resinous. Of this more hereafter. The bark 

 contains much tannin. It is used to curry leather, and to prepare 

 astringent lotions and gargles. 



WOOD. — Dark brown ; inferior in quality, as it is not generally 

 deemed of any value in carpentry ; f but Major Beddome says it is 

 used for packing-cases ; and Captain Dance says, it is, in Tavoy, a 

 large tree used in boat-building, and it forms a charcoal which the 

 iron-smiths there consider the best for their trade. 



LEAVES. — Simple, smooth, alternate, exstipulate, petioled, quite 

 entire, ovate or obovate ; with a slightly rounded emarginate apex ; 

 smooth on both sides and of a hard texture ; " Narrower but obtuse 

 at the base." (Wight and Arnott.) § The length of the leaves is 

 from four to eight inches ; the breadth from three to five inches. 



The Venation of the leaves is generally well-marked, whitish and 

 prominent on the under-surface. The nerves generally in ten pairs, 

 often less ; nearly horizontal: sometimes bifurcating faintly. The leaves, 

 like the bark, contain much tannin. 



Petiole, — Varying in length from a quarter to half an inch ; 

 slightly grooved on its ventral aspect ; at times almost cylindrical. 



INFLORESCENCE. — In panicles which are bracteate, copious 

 and situated at the apex of old branches bearing both male (e'.e., barren) 

 and hermaphrodite flowers scattered without any special order on the 

 pedicels. Note that the hermaphrodite flowers appear and develop 

 into fruit, long before the new foliage of the year is thrown out. Sir 

 William O'Shaughnessy observes that " There may be trees which 



• Natural History of Plants, vol. v, page 303. 

 t Balfour's Timber Trees of India, page 16 ; 1870. 

 § Prodromus Flor. Ind,, vol. i., page 168, 

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