126 LeguminOSCE. [Acacia- 



pair of pinnae, slightly channelled above, often with recurved 

 prickles beneath, pinnse 9-18 pair, i-i\ in., lflts. 40-60 (20-30 

 pair), small, \ in., sessile, crowded, easily falling, linear, obtuse, 

 quite glabrous ; fl. small, sessile, in rather lax, shortly stalked,, 

 erect, axillary spikes 3-4 in. long ; cal. quite glabrous ; cor. 

 three times as long as cal., lobes linear-lanceolate ; pod 

 3J-5 in. by f wide, stalked, nearly straight, tapering to each 

 end, very thin, margin often indented between the seeds, quite 

 glabrous, veiny, dark brown ; seeds 4-6, broadly oval, much 

 compressed, pale greenish-brown. 



Dry region ; rare. Bintenne county below Balangoda, 1857 (Thwaites) ;. 

 Northern Prov. (Vincent) ; between Mannar and Vavuniya (Capt. 

 Walker). The late H. Meade recorded it from Patchilapillai, near Jaffna, 

 in 1859. Fl. September; pale yellow or pinkish. 



In Peninsular India and Burma ; also in Trop. Africa (?). 



The heart-wood is red and extremely hard and heavy, whence the T. 

 name (' axe-breaker ')• It is also bitter, and the Sinhalese make drinking- 

 cups from it. 



This is so closely allied to A. Catechu, Willd., as to be combined with 

 it by many botanists. That tree, however, has more numerous pinnae 

 and lflts., and the calyx is tomentose. It appears to be confined to 

 Northern India and Burma, and is figured in Roxb. Cor. PI. t. 175 and 

 Bentl. and Trim. Med. PI. ii. t. 95. From the wood of A. Catechu is 

 prepared the astringent extract called Cutch in India, but I have no 

 knowledge of anything of the kind being obtained from our Ceylon tree, 

 though it probably could be. 



A. Suma, Kurz., figured (as A. Catechu) in Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 49, is 

 given as a Ceylon species in Fl. B. Ind. ii. 294. The specimen in Herb. 

 Kew is from Macrae, and was in all probability gathered from the old 

 trees of this species in Peradeniya Gardens. But it may perhaps occur 

 in the Northern Prov., and is easily known by its white papery bark. It 

 also affords Cutch. 



7. A. ferrug-inea, DC. Prod. ii. 458 (1825). 



Trimen in Journ. Bot. xxiii. 145. 



Fl. B. Ind. ii. 295 (not given for Ceylon). Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 51. 



A moderate-sized tree, bark rust-coloured, young parts 

 glabrous, stipular thorns small, straight, often absent ; l.-rachis 

 2-3^ in., glabrous, with a sessile gland midway between base 

 and lowest pair of pinnse and another between the bases of 

 uppermost pair, pinnse 4-6 pair, rather distant, if-2 in., lflts. 

 30-40 (15-20 pair) very shortly stalked, i-^in., linear-oblong, 

 unequal-sided, obtuse, glaucous-green paler beneath, rigid ; fl. 

 sessile, in slender axillary erect spikes 3-4 in. long ; cal. 

 glabrous, segm. triangular, acute; cor. twice as long as cal.,. 

 lobes lanceolate; pod (not seen) much as in the last. 



Dry region ; very rare. At present collected only at Anemaduwe in 

 the North-west Province between Puttalam and Kurunegala. Fl. Aug. ;. 

 yellowish. 



Also in Southern India. 



