INCOMPLETE 269 



nabis, &c. Hemp or ganja {Cannabis sativa) is a tall, 

 erect annual with small dioecious flowers, males in 

 axillary cymes, females in axillary racemes; stamens 

 not inflexed in bud but straight. The leaves are used 

 in preparing an intoxicating beverage known as siddhi 

 or bhang. The young inflorescences are smoked as 

 ganja, and the resinous exudation is also smoked as 

 charash. The bark of the plant yields a valuable 

 fibre known as Hemp. The Hop, a twining plant, 

 which is largely dultivated in Europe for imparting 

 flavour and a preserving quality to malt liquor, 

 belongs to this tribe. 



Tribe Artocarpe^, including the genera oi Ficus, 

 Artocarptis, &c. The genus Fictis, to which belong 

 Banyan or bot {Ficus bengalensis), Peepul or as- 

 wathwa {Fi'ci/x religdosa), dumur {Fici/s hispida, 

 F. Ctiiiia, &c.), pakurh {Ficus infectoria), and India- 

 rubber Tree {Ficus elastica), is characterized by a 

 round, ovoid or jug-shaped hollow rachis or floral 

 axis, lined internally by a crowd of small monoecious 

 flowers. The inflorescence matures into a collec- 

 tive spurious fruit known as syconus; the enclosed 

 minute fruits or achenes are popularly mistaken for 

 seeds. How the flowers are pollinated, and the seeds 

 or fruits dispersed by birds, especially crows, has 

 already been described. The fruits of Ficus resemble 

 the fruit or Hip of the Rose, with this essential differ- 

 ence, that the Hip of the Rose is the product of a 

 single flower, whereas the fruit of a Ficus is the pro- 

 duct of an inflorescence or many flowers (see fig. 72). 

 The genus Ariocarpus, to which belong the Jack-fruit 

 tree or kantal-gachh {Artocarpus integrifolia), dale, 

 dao, or madar {Artocarpus Lakoocha), and chaplasha 

 {Artocarptis Chaplasha) of Chittagong and Tipperah, 

 is characterized by a globose or oblong inflorescence, 



