CRAT2EVA RELIGIOSA. (Nat. ord. Capparidaoere.) 



CfiATiEVA. Linn.— GEN. CHAR. Calyx 4-partite ; lobes distinct from the base and open in asstivatioD. Petals 4, elliptical or ovate, pen- 

 niveined, with a long claw. Stamens usually 16-20, inserted on the more or less dilated torus ; filaments free filiform. Ovary ovoid or globose on a long 

 gynophore, 1-oelled with 2 multiovulate placentas or 2-eelled owing to the cohesion more or less of the placentas. Stigma sessile. Fruit globose or ovoid 

 with a coriaceous rind. Seeds indefinite, reniform ; testa coriaceous ; radicle conical, incumbent. Trees or shrubs, leaves 3-foliolate, flowers corymbose, 

 showy. 



CRATjEVA RELIGIOSA. (Forst. ; DO. Prod. I, 243.) A tree attaining about 30 feet. Branches glabrous, smooth, or 

 slightly verrucose. Leaves 3-foliolate. Leaflets membranous, acuminate, entire, glabrous, petiolulate, articulated to the petiole, 3-6 

 inches long ; central leaflet elliptical elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate, narrowed into the petiolule ; lateral leaflets usually obliquely 

 ovate-elliptical or rhomboidal. Flowers polygamous, f-1^ inches across, in terminal and lateral many-flowered corymbs. Pedicels |-2 

 inches ; upper bracts linear or subulate, caducous. Calyx-lobes oblong or ovate-oblong, distinct, rather acute. Petals enlarging after 

 expansion ; lamina elliptical or ovate, obtuse, claw equalling the sepals. Ovary ellipsoidal to globose, on a gynophore of 1-2 inches> 

 1 -celled or 2-locular at least partially, owing to the cohesion of the placentas. Fruit about the size of an apple, with a coriaceous 

 pericarp on a strong stipes. Oliver Fl. Afr. p. 99. C. Roxburghii, B. Br. C. Adansonii, et lasta, Dc. Prod. I. 243. 



A small tree very handsome when in flower, common throughout the Madras Presidency, Bombay, Bengal, and in Ceylon, and also found 

 in Africa ; it occasionally flowers before the leaves are developed, but not generally ; it is very common on thebanks of rivers, and is much planted by 

 natives. The wood is soft but tolerably serviceable and is used for various purposes. The tree is called Uskia man (TeliguJ in the Northern Divi- 

 sion and in the Oodavery forests, and Lunuwarana in Ceylon ; the fruit is hard, globose and woody, and something like that of the Wood-apple 

 (Feronia.) ~ ~ 



JIG 



