428 LXVIII. SAPOTACE.E [Reptonia 



young shoots and young leaves clothed with delicate pubescence. L. thickly coriaceous, 

 1-1J in. long, entire, obovate, narrowed into a short petiole. Fl. small, greenish-yellow 

 or whitish, almost sessile in compact axillary clusters. Corolla-tube short, lobes round, 

 spreading, stamens inserted on the edge of the tube, filaments long exserted, anthers 

 dehiscing outwardly. Ovary clothed with 2-armed hairs, 1-celled, with rudimentary 

 dissepiments at the base, ovules 5-7, basal. Fr. fleshy, usually one-seeded. This 

 genus, as shown by Kadlkofer, belongs to Sapotacece. 



Order LXIX. EBENACEjE. Gen. PL ii. 662. 



Trees or shrubs. L. alternate, rarely subopposite, entire, stipules 0. PL 

 usually dioecious, calyx gamosepalous, persistent and usually enlarged in fr. 

 Stamens 2-16 times the number of corolla-lobes, filaments often paired or in 

 bundles, styles 2-8, cells as many or twice as many as the styles. Seeds 

 pendulous, a small axile embryo in a horny often ruminated albumen. 



PI. 4-5-merous, ovary 4-5- or 8-10-celled . . . .1. Diospyros. 



Fl. mostly 3-merous, ovary 3- or 6-celled . . . .2. Maba. 



Like Sapotaccs, the Ebonies have concentric bands of wood parenchyma, appearing 

 like transverse bars across the medullary rays, but they are often extremely 

 fine and difficult to see. The wood-fibres have minute bordered pits. The wood of 

 many species is dark grey, and in the stems of some species when old, irregular masses 

 of jet-black wood are formed, sometimes alternating with strata of lighter coloured 

 wood. In this jet-black wood (Ebony) the vessels and wood fibres are filled with a 

 black substance, the nature and origin of which is not yet fully understood. 



1. DIOSPYROS, Linn. ; PI. Brit. Ind. iii. 553. 



Trees, rarely shrubs. L. alternate, entire, subopposite in a few species. 

 PI. in most species white, mostly 4-, in some species 5-, rarely 6-nierous, 

 corolla-lobes usually overlapping to the right. $ and $ usually on separate 

 trees, often polygamous, the $ fl. larger, with the calyx usually divided nearly 

 to the base. Stamens ordinarily 8-32, often in pairs or otherwise connate, 

 anthers basifixed, in most species linear, staminodes in $ fl., ovary 4-10-celled. 

 Pr. generally supported by the enlarged calyx, rind coriaceous, seeds embedded 

 in soft or viscid pulp. Embryo small in horny albumen, which often is rumi- 

 nated by the intrusion of the dark coloured testa. Species 180, tropics of the 

 whole world, a few species beyond the tropics. 



I. Female fl. solitaiw, sometimes in pairs. 



A. Calyx of $ and $ fl. similar, stamens usually in pairs. 



(a) Corolla of £ fl. hairy or tomentose, 1. glabrous. 



a. g fl. in short cymes or fascicles. 



1. D. nilagirica Bedd. Ic. PI. Ind. Or. t. 136. 



A middle-sized tree, young shoots and young 1. rusty-tomentose, 1. thickly 

 coriaceous, glabrous when full grown, blade 4-5, narrowed into pet. \ in. long, 

 sec. n. oblique, more or less distinct. PI. densely rusty-tomentose, J 1 in small 

 compact fascicles, § in. long, calyx large, teeth broad as long as tube, edges 

 reflexed ; ? solitary, broad, \-\ in. long, ovary densely rufous-tomentose, style 

 cylindric, stigmas 4. Pr. globose 1 in. diam., calyx not enlarged nor foliaceous. 



Sispara, Nilgiris. Travancore, common in evergreen forests at 3,500 ft. 2. D. 

 msignis, Thwaites; Bedd. Ic. t. 130. Anamalais, Travancore, Ceylon. A large tree, 

 youngest shoots appressed-pubescent. L. glabrous, blade 4-12, pet. stout J in. long. 

 Fl . nearly sessile, 4-rnerous, <J in crowded clusters, $ solitary or in pairs, ovary 8-celled. 

 fr. 1J in. diam. supported by the woody calyx, forming a shallow cup. 



3. D. oocarpa, Thwaites; Trimen Handb. Ceylon iii. 97. . 



A middle-sized tree, young shoots minutely puberulous, 1. chartaceous, 



