TERMINALIA TOMENTOSA. (Nat. ord. Combretacese.) 



J-ERMINALIA. (L.) Oen. PL p. 685.— GEN. CHAR. Flowers hermathrodite or polygamo-dioccious, calyx tube ovoid orcylindrical, 

 constricted above the ovary, limb deciduous urceolate or campanulate 5 dentate or 5 fid, lobes valvate, petals 0. stamens 10 in 2 series alternately larger 

 filaments subulate or filiform exserted, anthers small didymous. Ovary 1-celled style subulate, often thickened and villous at the base, stigma simple ovules 

 2, rarely 3, pendulous from the apex of the cell, fruit ovoid, angled, compressed or 2-5 winged 1-seeded, sarcocarp generally thin or 0. rarely fleshy, putamen 

 coriaceous or bony seed almond-like, testa membranaceous, cotyledons convolute, Trees or erect shrubs, leaves alternate or rarely opposite or sub-opposite, 

 often crowded towards the apex of the branches, with glands on both sides at the base or on the midrib, or glandless, flowers spiked sessile small, green or 

 white, rarely colored, bisexual in the lower part of the spike, male in the upper. 



TERMINALIA TOMENTOSA. (Roxb.) A very large timber tree, often 70 or 80 feet to the first bough, and up to 12 

 feet in girth ; bark deeply cracked (or in one variety without any cracks), branches spreading, leav.es sub-opposite short petioled oval, 

 with a cordate (often unequal) base, to oblong or narrow-oblong obtuse or emarginate or slightly acute at the apex, entire or crenulated 

 glabrous on both sides or more or less downy especially when young, up to 6 inches long by 4 broad, glands several on the midrib 

 below generally near the base sessile or rarely stalked, panicles terminal or from the upper axils composed of a few simple long cylin- 

 dric spikes, flowers sessile crowded of a dull yellow color generally hermathrodite below and male above, sometimes all hermathrodite, 

 calyx glabrous or hoary, sometimes with 5 or 6 glands in the hair round the base of the syle, fruit enlarged into 5-7 equal longitudinal 

 wings glabrous or rarely hoary. W. A. Prod. p. 314 ;^Roxb.Fl. Ind. ii. pp. 438, 439 and 440 ; — Terminaliacrenulata, glabra, tomeutosa, 

 and coriacea, W. A.; Terminalia alata, Ainslie ; Pentaptera glabra and tomentosa, Roxb. ; Peutaptera coriacea, Roxb.; Pentaptera 

 crenulata, Roxb. 



This is one of our most useful timber trees ; it is common throughout the Madras Presidency up to an elevation of 3,000 or Z,bQ0feel, 

 and grows to a very large size and very straight on the Anamallays, and very fine on the JYullaymallays (Kumool), where the timber is highly 

 prized, and more in use than any other ; it is also common in Mysore, Bengal, Bombay, and Ceylon. It is called Saj in Hindustani, Sdhajo in - 

 Oorea, Earra Mardd in Tamil, Maddee and Nalla Maddee in Telugoo, Matti in Canarese, and Koombook in Ceylon. The Terminalia glabra of . 

 Roxb. only differs in being more glabrous and having the bark nearly smooth, but the pubescence varies much,and I cannot look upon the two trees 

 as distinct species. It is distinguished by the Telingees as Telia Maddee. The Banipu of the South Canara forests (probably Pentaptera crenulata, 

 Roxb.,) is also, I believe, only a variety of the same species, or at least closely allied ; it differs in having very long stalked glands, h an inch long t 

 on the midrib below, often up as far as the centre of the leaf ; the tree does not, however, differ otherwise. 



Wood, dark-colored very hard, heavy, and strong, much used in house building, and for boats and canoes, solid wheels of carts, furni- 

 I ture, and many other purposes. The 'ashes from its burnt bark produce a kind of ' chunam which is eaten by the natives with betel leaf; the bark is 

 astringent, and used for dying black and for tanning. This tree has been introduced into several of our plantations. 









