40 



X. BIXACE^E 



[Flacourtia 



the Malay Archipelago, cultivated in India on account of its acid edible fruit. An 

 unarmed evergreen tree, leaves glabrous, 4-8 in., fl. "bisexual, fruit red, seeds 8-10. 



B. Leaves ovate or obovate, length of blade not more than twice its 

 greatest width. 



5. F. sepiaria, Roxb. Cor. pi. t. 68. Vern. Tambat, Mar. ; Miricli, Kan. 



A much-branched shrub or small tree, the branchlets as a rule terminating 

 in sharp rigid spines, which bear leaves and flowers. Leaves 1-2 in., glabrous, 

 obovate from a cuneate base. PI. yellowish, dioecious, styles 3-4, distinct. 

 Drupe purple, \ in. diam. 



Bengal, Sundarbans, Chittagong, Burma. Scrub son the Coromandel coast, Deccan, 

 Kanara, Kurg, Nilgiris, Travancore. Fl. C.S. Ceylon, Java. 



6. 



F. Ramontchi, L'Heritier ; Brand. F. Fl. 18 ; Wight Ic. t. 85.— Syn. 

 F. sapida, Roxb. Cor. PI. t. 69. Vern. Eafai, Hind. ; 

 Kakein, C. P. ; Gargdti, Berar ; Mehrlo, Kol. ; 

 Kaikun, Merwara ; Ranker, Bauswara : Pakir, 

 Kaker, Bhekal, Tamlat, Mar. ; Gapra, Coorg. 



A large shrub, under favourable conditions a 

 moderate-sized tree, with a short trunk and thorny 

 branches, wood tough, close-grained. Leaves decidu- 

 ous, 1-5 in., variable in shape from ovate to obovate, 

 glabrous above, more or less pubescent beneath. PI. 

 yellow, dioecious, in short, simple or compound 

 racemes, generally pubescent. Styles 5-11. Drupe 

 \ in., dark-red or black, edible, stones superposed 

 in two tiers. 



Subhimalayan tract, from the Punjab eastwards, Raj- 

 putana, Behar, Central India, the Deccan and the Penin- 

 sula, mostly in dry open places and on rocky hills. 

 Manipur. Dry and Eng forests of the Irawaddi valley 

 (Kurz, F. Fl. i. 75). The leaves fall in January-February, 

 Fig. 16. — Flacourtia. the new foliage appears April and May. Fl. November- 



Ramontchi, L'Herit. \. March. Also in Ceylon and the Malay Archipelago. 



4. XYLOSMA, Forster; Fl. Brit. Ind. i. 194. 



Characters of Flacourtia, but ovary 1-celled, placentas 2, rarely more, 

 parietal, ovules few. Style 1, short. Fruit a small 2-8 seeded berry. Species 

 30, tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres. 



1. X. longifolium, Clos ; Brand. F. Fl. t. 4. Vern. Cherinda, Chirunda, 

 Pb. ; Katpatia, Eatari, Hind. 



A moderate-sized tree, glabrous, often armed with strong straight axillary 

 spines. Leaves 4-9 in., coriaceous, shining, lanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate. 

 Secondary nerves 8-10 pair, arching. Fl. small, dicecious, in short axillary 

 glomerate panicles. Stigma indistinctly lobed, berry \ in. diam. 



Subhimalayan tract and outer hills, ascending to 5,000 ft., from the Punjab east- 

 wards, Manipur. Fl. January-May. China. 2. X. controversum, Clos. Nepal, Khasi 

 hills, Assam, China. Nearly allied, differs by broader leaves, 3-6 in. long, secondary 

 nerves 6-8 pair. 3. X. latifolium, Hook, f . & Thorns. Bababuden hills, Mysore. A large 

 thorny tree, branchlets, petioles and inflorescence finely pubescent, panicles slender. 

 Berry J in. diam. 



5. GYNOCARDIA, R. Br.; Fl. Brit. Ind. i. 195. 



G. odorata, R. Br. in Roxb. Cor. PL t. 299 (the only species). Vern. 

 Chcmlmugra, Beng. 

 A large evergreen tree, perfectly glabrous, wood hard, red or brown. Leaves 



