536 XCI. LAURACE^E [Litscea 



edges, 4-6 flowers in each head. Heads on very slender peduncles in sessile 

 or shortly stalked corymbs. Fr. \-\ in. diam. 



Subhimalayan tract and outer ranges from Nepal eastwards, ascending to 9,000 ft. 

 Common in the West Duars. Assam valley, liere chiefly in the Dibrugarh district, 

 used to feed the silk worm which yields the valued Mezenkuri silk. Khasi hills. 

 Cachar. Upper Burma (Kurz). Java. Fl. C. S., at high elevations later. 2. L. Eingii. 

 Hook, f . Sikkim 6-8,000 ft. Khasi hills. An aromatic shrub, 1. elliptic-lanceolate, fl. 

 before the 1., heads on stout peduncles. 



(b) Leaf-buds perulate. 



3. L. sericea, Wall. (Tetranthera). Nepal. Sikkim, 9-11,000 ft. Manipur. A middle- 

 sized very aromatic tree, branchlets, petioles, underside of 1. and peduncles with long 

 silky hairs, fl. before the 1. 4. L. oreophila, Hook. f. Inner Sikkim 10-11,000 ft. L. 

 ovate-lanceolate, blade 2-3, pet. slender J in. long. 



II. Leaves persistent, penninerved. 



A. Perianth-segments incomplete or wanting, tube hardly enlarged in fruit. 

 Stamens numerous, more than 9. 



5. L. tomentosa, Heyne. — Syn. Tetranthera tomentosa, Raxb. ; Wight Ic. t. 1834. 

 Vern. Chikna, Mar. ; Peril Panjetti, Peram Pandali, Tarn. Western Ghats from 

 Mahabaleshwar to the Nilgiris. Hills of the Cuddapah, South Arcot, Salem and other 

 districts in the Southern Deccan. Ceylon. Fl. Aug.-Jan. A middle-sized tree, 

 densely and softly tomentose, except the upperside of leaves. Leaves crowded at the 

 ends- of branches, elliptic-lanceolate, blade 4-6, pet. J-l in. long, sec. n. 10-15 pair, 

 prominent beneath. Flower-heads solitary, J in. diam. before opening, pale yellow, on 

 peduncles § in. long. 3 : Stamens 18-20, filaments long slender, villous. $ : staminodes 

 long, strap-shaped, numerous. Fr. ^-J in. diam. 



6. L. sebifera, Pers. — Syn. L. chinensis, Lam. ; Trimen Handb. Ceylon ii. 

 449; Tetranthera, laurifolia, Roxb.; Brandis F. PI. 379; T. apetala, Roxb. 

 Cor. PI. 1. 147. Vern. Maida, Hind., Mar. ; Onddn, Burm. ; Singhor,Banborla, 

 Kumaon. 



A middle-sized tree, very variable, inner bark viscid. Branchlets, inflor- 

 escence and underside of leaves more or less pubescent, sometimes almost 

 glabrous. L. ovate or elliptic-lanceolate, pale beneath, blade 5-10, pet. i-2 in. 

 long, sec. n. 8-12 pair, joined by finely reticulate veins. Plower-heads white 

 or yellowish, \ in. diam. before opening, in pedunculate umbels, filaments 

 clothed with long soft hairs. Fr. \ in. diam. 



Subhimalayan tract extending into the plains, from the Ravi eastwards, often in Sal 

 Forests ascending to 4,500 ft. Punjab Salt range. Assam. Khasi hills. Bengal. 

 Burma. Central and South India. Fl. May-July. 7. L. ligustrhia, Nees ; Fl. Brit. 

 Ind. v. 158. — Syn. Tetranthera ligustrina, Nees; Wight Ic. t. 1835. Western Ghats, 

 from the Nilgiris southwards. Glabrous, 1. coriaceous, blade 3-4, pet. A-§ in. long, 

 obovatt, sec. n. 6-8 pair, veins on both sides finely and very prominently reticulate. 

 Fl. -heads solitary or clustered, J in. diam. before opening. Perianth persistent in fr. 

 but not enlarged. 8. L. membranifolia, Hook. f. Upper Assam. A middle-sized tree, 1. 

 thin, membranous, pubescent beneath, obovate, blade 8-12, pet. \-\ in. long, sec. n. 10-14 

 pair, tert. n. parallel. 



B. Perianth-segments 6, tube hardly enlarged in fr. 

 (a) L. alternate, pubescent or tomentose beneath. 



9. L. polyantha, Juss. — Syn. Tetranthera raonopetcda, Roxb. Cor. PI. t. 

 148; Brandis P. Fl. t. 45. Vern. Eatmarra, Singran, Hind. ; Karkaiva, 

 Dehra Dun ; Leja, Gond ; Saalu, Ass. ; Onddn, Burma. 



A middle-sized tree, branchlets, underside of 1. and inflorescence with soft 

 brown or rust-coloured pubescence. L. elliptic-oblong, blade 4-8, pet. |-.| in., 

 sometimes longer, sec. n. 8-10 pair, joined by the parallel transverse veins. 

 rj fl.-heads J— f in. diam. before opening, in sessile or nearly sessile clusters, 

 fl. 5-6 in each head, sessile or on short hairy pedicels, involucre of 5 rounded 

 membranous bracts. Fr. \ in. long, seated on the persistent base of perianth. 



Subhimalayan tract from the Eavi eastwards, ascending to 3,000 ft. Punjab Salt 

 range. Assam (associated with Soom and also used for rearing the Muga silk- 

 worm). Khasi and Naga hills. Cachar. Bengal plains. Chittagong. Sat pura range. 

 Northern Circars. Burma (everywhere in the plains and in the valleys of the principal 

 rivers). Fl. March-May. 10. L. amara, Bl. — Syn. Tetranthera amara, Nees. Pegu 



