Alangium.] XLIII. CORNACE^. 251 



and intramarginal veins. Flowers white, fragrant, on short bracteate 

 pedicels, solitary or fasciculate j pedicels and calyx hairy. Calyx 6-10- 

 dentate ; petals 6-10 ; stamens twice as many ; filaments with long stiff 

 hairs at the base. Fruit f in. long, tomentose, filled with red pulp. 



I follow Thwaites in uniting the 3 species of Lamarck, EncycL Meth. 

 Botanique i. 174, and adopting his new specific name. The appearance 

 of the plant is exceedingly variable, and the different forms, tomentose 

 or glabrous, with broad acuminate, and with narrow, almost linear leaves, 

 with or without spines, merit farther study. 



; Common in places in South and Central India, Bengal, Oudh, and North- 

 West India. In the sub- Himalayan tract, only as far west as the Ganges. 

 Ceylon and China. Never quite leafless; the foliage is renewed io. April-May. 

 FL usually Feb.-AprU ; ft. May-Aug. 



In North and Central India attains 30-40 ft. under favourable conditions, 

 but generally remains much smaller. Trunk short, erect, to 2^ ft. girth. Bark 

 ■| in. thick, grey with some white specks, smooth, with irregular undulations. 

 Wood light- or yellowish - brown, often dark-coloured in the centre, fine- 

 even- close- and smooth-grained, tough and strong, weight 49 lb. per cub. ft. 

 Value of P. 875, easily worked, with a beautiful glossy surface, well suited for 

 ornamental work. Used for pestles to crush oil-seeds, wooden cattle-bells, and 

 various other purposes. Yields excellent fuel. Coppices well. Fiuit mucila- 

 ginous, sweet, somewhat astringent and acid, is eaten. Root aromatic, used 

 in native medicine. 



2. MAELBA, Eoxb. 



Trees or shrubs, with alternate, entire or angularly -lobed leaves. 

 Flowers bisexual, in axillary cymes. Calyx-Umb minutely toothed. 

 Petals 6-10, linear, valvate in bud. Stamens as many as petals ; filaments 

 short, adhering' at the base to petals ; anthers long and linear. Ovary 

 adhering to calyx above the middle, 2-ceUed, with 1 pendulous ovule in 

 each cell. Style filiform, with a 4-lobed stigma. Fruit a drupe, often 1- 

 celled, 1-seeded. 



1. M. begonisefolia, Eoxb. Cor. PI. t. 283 ; FL Ind. ii. 261 ; Bot. 

 Eeg., 1838, t. 61. Vern. Garkum, budhal, tumbri, KW.P. ; Bodara, 

 Bias ; Padlu, Eavi ; Sidlu, Chenab ; Prot, Kashmir ; Tilpattra, chitpat- 

 tra, Jcurkni, Jhelam. 



A small tree, glabrous, youngest parts with rust-coloured pubescence. 

 Leaves 3-10 in. long, varying from ovate acuminate, to broad obliquely 

 cordate, often broadly and angularly lobed, petioles f-1 J in. long ; basal 

 nerves 3 or 5, main lateral nerves 2 or 3 on either side of midrib, petioles 

 and nerves often reddish. Cymes a little longer than petioles, loosfely 4- 

 20-flowered. Flowers conspicuous, with white petals and yellow anthers. 

 Stamens and style hairy, stigma 4-lobed. Drupe ovoid, ^| in. long, 

 crowned with remains of calyx, with scanty, soft, dark-coloured pulp, and 

 a hard stone. Eadicle short, superior. M. affinis, Dne. in Jacquem. Voy. 

 Bot. t. 83, from Kashmir, is described with hairy style and 2-lobed 

 stigima. The North-West Himalaya specimens which I have examined 

 have hairy styles, and a 4-lobed stigma. 



