Briedelia.] LXIX. EUPHORBIACEiE. 449 



Branchlets and under side of leaves tomentose j bracteoles few, 

 coriaceous. 

 A tree ; lateral nerves 15-20 pair ; calyx slightly enlarged in 



fruit 1. B. return. 



A climbing shrub ; lateral nerves 8-12 pair ; calyx much en- 

 larged in fruit 2. B. stipularis. 



Branchlets and leaves wholly glabrous; bracteoles numerous, 



thinly membranous 3. B. montana. 



1. B. retusa, Sprengel.— Tab. LV.— DC. Prodr. xv. ii. 493 j Bedd. 

 Fl. Sylv. t. 260. — Syn. B. crenulata, Eoxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 734 ; B. spinosa, 

 Willd. ib. 735 ■,_Cluytia spinosa, Eoxb. Cor. PI. t. 172. Vem. Patlior, 

 mark, Pb. ; Khdja, Bijnaur, Oudh, Gorakbpur ; Kassi, khassi, Oudh and 

 C.P. ; Gauli, Garhwal; Angnera, Banswara ; Asana, asauna, Bombay; 

 Tseikchyi, Burm. 



A middle-sized or large deciduous tree, spinescentwhen young, branchlets 

 and under side of leaves usually soft-tomentose. Leaves short-petiolate, 

 elliptic-oblong, 3-6 in. long, midrib prominent, with 15-20 pairs of promi- 

 nent, straight, parallel, latreal nerves ; stipules subulate, deciduous. Flovrers 

 monoicous, yellow, subsessUe, crowded in lateral clusters, generally arranged 

 in terminal paniculate spikes. Petals of male flowers on long claws, lam- 

 ina thick, obovate, lobed ; of female flowers lanceolate. Fruit subglobose, 

 green, nearly black when ripe, fleshy, ^ in. diam., supported by the some- 

 what enlarged coriaceous calyx. B. creJiwZa to, Eoxb., with axiUary flower- 

 heads, is said to be dioicous by Eoxburgh. At present I am inclined to 

 regard it as a variety only, chiefly found in Western India. 



Sub-Himalayan tract, not common, ascending to 3500 ft., generally in moist 

 ravines, found west as far as the Chenab. Common in the Oudh forests and on 

 the Satpura range, in Bengal, Burma, Ceylon, South India, abundant in the 

 forests of Western India, where I have found it north as far as Banswara near- 

 the Mhye river. Commonly associated with Sal in Oudh and on the Satpura 

 range. A middle-sized tree in North and Central India, not generally exceed- 

 ing 30 ft. in height and 4 ft.'in girth, but a large tree with a straight tall trunk in 

 Bengal, Western India, and Burma, stems and branches of young trees have nume- 

 rous scattered long sharp spines, which fall off as the tree gets older. Fl. May- 

 July ; fr. Oct.-Jan. Old leaves shed March- April, young leaves appear May, 

 June. Bark thin, grey or brownish-black, rough, scurfy with small scales, 

 sometimes deeply cracked, inner bark reddish, fibrous. Sapwood pale yellow- 

 ish-white, heartwood grey, yellowish or dark olive brown, compact, even-grained 

 and hard. MeduUary rays fine, numerous. 



Weight 54 lb. (R. Th., Cent. Prov.), 60 (Skinner), 66 {Tseihckyl from Burma, 

 D. B., List No. 23). Not easy to work, but durable. Used for house-building, 

 agricultural implements, and cart-building. The bark is very astringent and 

 is used for tanning, the leaves are valued as cattle-fodder, and the tree is fre- 

 quently lopped. The fruit is sweetish and eatable. 



2. B. stipularis, Bl. ; DC. Prodr. xv. ii. 499. — Syn. B. scandens, Eoxb. 

 Fl. Ind. iii. 736 ; Cluytia scandens, Eoxb. Cor. PI. t. 173. Vem. Mad- 

 latdh, undergupa, Oudh. 



A large, more or less climbing shrub, with drooping branches ; branch- 

 Hets and under side of leaves with soft tawny tomentum. Leaves short-. 



2 F 



