22 BULLETIN 1057, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



This tree is also said to occur on the Andaman Islands, and especially 

 the South Island, in the Chouldari Hill jungle, and at Port Monat, 

 as well as at Manpur and in the Dhanikari Hill jungles. 



From the specimens examined in the Sibpur Herbarium, it is 

 exceedingly doubtful whether the Andaman species belongs to 

 Taraktogenos kurzii. It is quite possible (and the material in the 

 Sibpur Herbarium would substantiate the belief) that what is said 

 to be Taraktogenos kurzii in South or Lower Burma and that in the 

 Andaman Islands are undescribed species belonging either to Hyd- 

 nocarpus or to Taraktogenos. All the herbarium material in Cal- 

 cutta of species belonging to this group is very fragmentary and 

 does not permit an adequate description of the undescribed species 

 present in the collection ; nor does the material of the described species 

 allow critical revision, flowers or fruits being absent in many 

 instances. 



ASTERIASTIGMA MACRO CARP A. 10 



Asteriastigma macrocarpa was discovered by Beddome on his 

 journey to Tinnevelli and was first believed to be confined to Madras, 

 where it is known as the cannon-ball tree. It is said that it has been 

 found in Burma, but the writer has been unable to find specimens 

 from that region either in the Economic Museum in Calcutta or in 

 the main herbarium in the Sibpur Botanic Garden. 



The fruits of Asteriastigma macrocarpa, as the specific name im- 

 plies, are much larger than those of any Hydnocarpus or of Tarakto- 

 genos kurzii, though it greatly resembles those of the latter. The 

 seeds are similar to those of Taraktogenos kurzii, but are consider- 

 ably larger. Dr. Gosh, chemist for the Tropical School of Medicine 

 of Calcutta, informed the writer that oil expressed from seeds of this 

 species agrees well in its chemical composition and physical proper- 

 ties with that expressed from the seeds of Taraktogenos kurzii. 



The Asteriastigma tree is a native of southern India and occurs in 

 the native State of Travancore on the Ghat between Cottyam and 

 Peermerd, at an elevation of 2,000 feet. It was impossible for the 

 writer to visit this locality for various reasons, and consequently no 

 seed was procured. 



From the large size of the fruit (5 inches in diameter) and the 

 larger seeds (the largest in the tribe, even exceeding those of Tarakto- 

 genos kurzii) , it may perhaps be the best species to cultivate from a 

 commercial standpoint ; but no definite recommendation to that effect 

 can be made until the species has been thoroughly investigated. 



10 Asteriastigma macrocarpa Beddome (2, p. 236). 



