CHLOEOXTLON SWIETENIA. (Nat. ord. Meliacese.) 



CHLOROXYLON. (D.C.) Gen. PI. p. 340.— GEN. CHAR. Calyx short5 parted, petals 5 patent unquiculate imbricate, disk thick 10 lobed 

 pubescent, stamens 10 inserted into the sinuses of the disk, "filaments subulate alternately longer, anthers cordate apiculate versatile, ovary pubescent half 

 immersed in the disk depressed 3 lobed 3 celled style short, stigma obscurely 3 lobed, ovules 8 in each cell fixed to the axis ascending, capsule oblong 

 coriaceous 3 celled, 3 valved dehiscing from the apex septifragal, seeds 4-6 in each cell ascending, extending upwards (in an opposite direction from the 

 hilum) into a wing ; embryo exalbuminous, cotyledons plano-convex, radicle short. A tree with abruptly pinnate leaves. 



. 



CHLOROXYLON SWIETENIA. (D.C.) Leaflets alternate or nearly opposite pale colored small from 10 to 20 pair, semi- 

 cordate oblong unequal sided furnished with minute pellucid dots, flowers in terminal or axillary panicles. W. A. prod. p. 123. Swietenia 

 chloroxylon. Eoxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 400. W. III. 



This is the well knovm Satinwood tree. It is common throughout the Madras Presidency, Mysore and in Ceylon, and is sparingly found in 

 Bombay — it is generally found about the foot of hills and rarely ascends the slopes above a thousand feet or so. The wood is close grained and 

 yellow, very hard and durable and excellent for turning, and is much used for furniture and pietu,re frames as it takes a beautiful polish ; it is 

 however very liable to warp and split if not well seasoned in the shade. It stands well under water and is used for various purposes in the Gun 

 Carriage Manufactory. It is much cut away in the Madras Presidency, as it is highly prized by the natives for ploughs, axil trees, oil presses, &c. 

 but especially the former , so that fine trees are rarely met with except in out-of-the-way places (such as the Collegal forests.) I have met with it 8 

 feet in girth, but it is found much larger in Ceylon. A cubic foot weighs about 5626s. It is called Billu in Teligoo, Burns or Purush in Tamil, 

 Bheyroo (Oorea), in Gumsoor, Dhoura in Hindustani, Vdee mara in Tinnevelly, Billu and Hulda in Bombay, Buruta gass in Ceylon. It 

 flowers in the hot season and ripens its seeds in the rains. I do not know of any attempts to plant it. — The tree yields a, wood oil. The natives 

 apply the leaves to wounds. " Flower Satin" is obtained from the root in Ceylon. 



11 



