Sterculia ] XIII. STEECULIACE^. 33 



outside with scattered stellate hairs. Flowers bisexual : ovary globose, 

 on a gynophore as long as the calyx, surrounded at its base by 10 

 anthers inserted on a membranous ring, which is adnate to the gyno- 

 phore. Fruit consisting of 2 to 7 sessile, oblong or obovoid, coriaceous 

 carpels, l|^-3 in. long, clothed inside and outside with thick brown to- 

 mentum of stellate hairs ; seeds several in each carpel. 



Outer Himalaya to the Indus, ascending to 3500 feet. Panjab Salt range. 

 Oudh forests, not common. Western coast from Guzerat southwards. South 

 India. The old foliage is shed Dec, Jan. ; new leaves issue May, June, after 

 the flowers, which appear in March, April ; the fruit ripens Jvme, July. 



Near its north-western limit this species is often only a shrub 8-10 ft. high, 

 with a straight, somewhat irregular trunk, and a few large "spreading branches. 

 Further east and south it is a moderate-sized tree, 40-50 ft. high, with a .short 

 trunk to 5 ft. in girth, and a broad head. Bark grey or brown, smooth or some- 

 what rough with exfoliating scales. Wood soft and light, no distinct heartwood. 

 The inner bark yields a coarse, very strong fibre, which is made into ropes and 

 coarse canvas for bags. The ropes for dragging timber by elephants and buffa- 

 loes in South India are made of the bark of this species. A pellucid gum 

 {katUa) exudes from the trunk. 



2. S. urens, Eoxb. PI. Corom. t. 24 ; Fl. Ind. iii. 145 ; W. & A. 

 Prodr. 63. — Vern. Gulu, kulu, kulru, gular, gulli, C.P. ; Kalauri, Panch 

 Mehals. 



A tree, with white bark. Leaves on long petioles crowded at the ends of 

 branches, tomentose beneath, nearly glabrous above, sinuately 5-lobed ; 

 lobes entire, acuminate, sinuses shallow. Stipules caducous. Flowers 

 small, numerous, greenish yellow, on short pedicels, supported by linear 

 bracts longer than the bud, and deciduous after flowering. Panicles crowded, 

 generally pyramidal, erect, every part covered with a glutinous yellow 

 tomentum ; a few bisexual mixed with a large number of male flowers. 

 Gynophore shorter than calyx; filaments 10, alternately longer, united 

 below into a thin sheath, which girds the gynophore. Fruit of 5 sessile 

 radiating, ovate-lanceolate, hard, coriaceous carpels, 3 in. long, red when 

 ripe, covered outside with many stifi' bristles, which sting like those of the 

 Cow-itch (Mueima). Seeds oblong, dark chestnut -brown, from 3 to 6 

 in each carpel. 



Terai forests and SiwaUk tract, extending west to the Ganges. Behax, Central 

 Provinces, especially the Satpura range, Bandelkhand, Gwahor, Western India 

 from the Mhye river southwards. Common throughout the Peninsula and Ceylon, 

 mostly on dry, rocky hUls, often associated -with Boswellia thurifera. Leafless 

 during winter, il. Jan.-March, the fruit ripening in April and May, and the 

 young leaves appearing about the same time. The flowers, when touched, 

 have an unpleasant smell, and so have the young parts of this and other species 

 of Stereulia, hence the name. 



A moderate-sized tree, from 30 to 50 ft. high ; trunk short, often crooked 

 and irregular, rarely exceeding 6 ft. in girth, with large spreading branches. 

 Bark thick, cream-coloured, pink and white, smooth, shining, with a thin, white, 

 transparent outer coat, peeling off like that of the birch. The wood is white, 

 except the reddish part- near the centre of large old trees, soft, light, used as 

 fuel ; Sitars (native guitars) and toys are made of it on the western coast. 

 From cracks and incisions made in the bark exudes a white gum, which is 



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