ARMATURE 6i 



kumarika, golap or Rose, and nata or Fever-nut 

 {Ceesalpinia Bonducella) are all good examples of 

 this. In the last (nata) the under-surfaces of the leaf- 

 stalk are covered with hooked prickles, and when 

 once laid upon an object firmly lay hold of it; hence 

 this plant often' covers completely the lower vegeta- 

 tion, effectually preventing anything from passing 

 through its prickly leaves and branches. The for- 

 midably-branched spines of pani-ala (see fig. 62) 

 being only developed on the lower part of the stem, 

 suggest the idea of their being the product of a dis- 

 tinct knowledge on the part of the plant that a tree 

 requires spines or armour upon its lower parts only." 



While speaking of the armature of plants, that is, 

 contrivances by \yhich plants defend themselves from 

 the attack of animals, it will not be out of place to 

 mention here that, besides spines, prickles, and glan- 

 dular hairs, many plants are furnished with an acrid 

 milky or watery juice, many with a repulsive smell, 

 and many with a bitter taste, which serve as effectual 

 means of self-defence. For example, rang-chita 

 (Pedilanthus), bag-bharenda {Jatropha), akanda, and 

 chhatim {Alsionia) are provided with an abundance of 

 acrid milky or watery juice which is repulsive to cattle. 

 For this reason they are mostly used as hedge-plants. 

 Similarly, gandha - bhadali or gandhal {Pcederia 

 foetida), dhania {Coriandrum), sulpa-shag {Peuce- 

 danum Sowa), madhu-phal (Salacia prinoides), &c., 

 turn away the grazing cattle by their odour, and are 

 therefore often cultivated among field-crops as means 

 of protecting the latter. The neem, patal, &c., do 

 the same thing by their bitter taste. Many unarmed 

 plants grow under armed plants, and thus protect 

 themselves with the help of their armed neighbours. 



Some American species of Acacia (babla) (fig. 64) 



