474 ,LXXV. LOGANIACEiE [Strychnos 



A middle-sized often a large tree, bark smooth, whitish, 1. broadly elliptic, 

 shining, blade 3-6, petiole |-| in. long. PL greenish-white, in terminal 

 pubescent pedunculate compound cymes. Calyx-lobes acute, corolla-tube 

 cylindric, -J- in. long, about three times the length of lobes, slightly puberulous 

 outside, throat glabrous. Style filiform, glabrous, stigma undivided. Berry 

 as large as an orange and of the same colour. Seeds flat, grey, shining, 

 nearly circular. 



Gorakhpur forests (D. B.). Near Pundua (Wall.). Orissa. "Western Peninsula. 

 Burma, Upper and Lower. Fl. Febr. -April. Ceylon. Changes its 1. during the hot 

 season, occasionally for a short time leafless. The seeds contain strychnine, an extremely 

 bitter and most poisonous alkaloid, which also is found in bark and root of other species. 

 A tree found by Kurz on the eastern slopes of the Pegu Yoma, and described by him 

 (F. Fl. ii. 167) as S. Wallichiana, Steudel, is similar, but has the corolla-throat villous 

 between the anthers, and a hairy style. It demands further study on the spot. 



2. S. potatorum, Linn. f. ; Roxb. Cor. PI. t. 5. ; Wight 111. t. 156. The 

 clearing nut tree. Vern. Nirmali, Hind. ; Kotako, Uriya ; Chilla, Tel. ; 

 Tettan Kottai, Tarn. 



A middle-sized tree, wholly glabrous, trunk often fluted, bark dark coloured, 

 deeply furrowed. L. ovate or elliptic, coriaceous, blade 2-3 in., petiole very 

 short. Fl. white, fragrant, in short lateral sessile glabrous cymes. Corolla 

 ^— \ in., tube campanulate, 2-4 times the length of lobes, tufts of white hair 

 at the mouth between the stamens. Style glabrous, cylindric, from a conical 

 base, stigma indistinctly 2-lobed. Berry black when ripe, g in. diam. Seeds 

 1 or 2. - 



Central provinces, Behar, Western Peninsula. Fl. H. S. Ceylon. Seeds used to 

 clear muddy water. 



B. Scandent shrubs with tendrils, which often are stout and woody. 



(a) Corolla-tube very short, shorter than calyx. 

 o. Western species. 



3. S. colubrina, Linn. Kanal, Mar. ; Naya miishti, Tel. Western Ghats from the 

 Konkan southwards. Ceylon. A lofty climber, tendrils generally simple, 1. elliptic- 

 lanceolate, blade 2-A, pet. J in. Cymes axillary, compound trichotomous, puberulous, 

 anthers glabrous, ovary hairy in the upper portion. 4. S. Bourdilloni, sp. nova. South 

 Kanara. Travancore, common in evergreen forest at 2,000 ft, Fl. Feb. -Apr., fr. Oct. 

 (Bourdillon No. 75). A gigantic climber, 1. (young) elongate-elliptic, blade 2, pet. J in., 

 tendrils simple,, thick, woody. Fl.in terminal cornjiaet trichotomous pubescent cymes 

 at the ends of branchlets, pedicels very short, calyx-segments pubescent, obtuse, 

 corolla glabrous, tube almost 0, lobes thickened and cucullate at apex. Anthers 

 glabrous, oblong apiculate, cells slightly diverging at base, filaments very short, ovary 

 glabrous. 5. S. Dalzellii, Clarke. Belganm and North Kanara Ghats. Bababudan 

 Hills, Mysore. L. ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, blade 3-5, pet. J in. Fl. in dense, shortly 

 pedunculate, axillary cymes. Corolla-tube one-third the length of lobes, long hairs in 

 throat, anthers bearded at base, ovary glabrous. Fr. 1 in. diam. 



6. S. Rheedii, Clarke. Malabar. Travancore, evergreen forest at 2,500-3,700 ft. L. ovate- 

 lanceolate, blade 3-5, pet. J in., tendrils forked. Inflorescence glabrous axillary 5-15-fld., 

 the lower fl. often opening first, pedicels longer than fl., calyx glabrous, segments 

 triangular, edge minutely ciliate. Corolla-tube almost none, segments usually 5, at 

 times 4 or 6, oblong-lanceolate, edges minutely ciliolate. the lower half with long thin 

 hairs on the upper surface. Anthers small, ovate, glabrous on long, slender filaments, 

 ovary glabrous. 



ft. Eastern species. 



7. S. acuminata, Wall. Pegu, Tenasserim. Nicobars, Rocky sea shores of South 

 Andaman. Borneo. A large evergreen scandent shrub, 1. ovate, blade 4-6, pet. £ in., 

 5 basal nerves, the 2 outer marginal. Fl. small, in axillary minutely hairy compound 

 cymes, petals shortly connate, slightly hairy at base, anthers glabrous, ovary slightly 

 hairy, fr. § in. diam. 8. S. hypogyna, Clarke. Mergui. Similar to 7, if distinct. 

 Basal nerves 3. 



(b) Corolla campanulate, tube not much longer than lobes, but longer than 

 calyx. 



9. S. Beddomei, Clarke. Travancore, foot of Ghats. Ceylon. Cymes pubescent, 



