GMELINA AEJBOREA. (Nat, order Verbenacese.) 



GMELINA. Linn.— GEN. CHAR. Calyx cup-shaped 4-5 toothed sinuate-lobed, corol-tube much dilated upwards or almost campanulate, 

 limb oblique with 4 or 5 spreading lobes, the 2 upper ones sometimes united in an entire lip. Stamens 4 in pairs shorter than the corol, ovary 4-celled 

 with 1 ovule in each cell pendulous from near the apes of the axis or attached at or above the middle, style filiform, stigma recurved entire or 2-4 lobed,- 

 fruit a succulent drupe the putamen hard or bony 4-celled or rarely 2-celled, seeds solitary in each cell without albumen. Trees or large shrubs, leaves 

 opposite undivided, flowers rather large yellow in the Indian species, (or in others pink or blue) in irregular terminal panicles or simple racemes. 



GrMELTNA ARBOREA. (Roxb.) A large tree with a light ash-colored generally smooth leprous-looking bark, trunk of 

 considerable girth but rarely straight, leaves rhomboid ovate to cordate with a long acumination or quite rounded at the apex, entire or 

 slightly scolloped, generally rather suddenly attenuated at the base, but sometimes deeply cordate, 3-5 nerved, furnished at the base 

 with 2-4 prominent glands, densely downy on both sides when young with greyish mealy or golden velvetty tomentum, the upper sur- 

 face often glabrous or subglabrous in age, 4-10 inches long 2-7 inches broad, petioles round downy 2-3 inches long, panicles terminal 

 thyrsoid densely downy with greyish or golden tomentum, the bracts downy lanceolate deciduous, flowers numerous yellow tinged with 

 brown, calyx small more or less 5-toothed hoary or densely downy, corol more or less downy, 1 J to nearly 2 inches long, the tube de- 

 clinate and much dilated upwards, the limb ample sub-bilabiate, lobes 5 rounded imbricate, the 2 upper small, the 2 lateral larger, the 

 middle lower one much the largest and generally furrowed on the inside, anthers crescent-shaped the cells diverging, the filaments glan- 

 duloso-pilose, the longer pair considerably incurved, ovary glabrous 4-celled with 1 ovule in each cell pendulous from the apex of the 

 axis, style about as long as the stamens, stigma entire or 2, 3, 4-lobed, fruit an oval or obovoid smooth yellow drupe about as large as 

 a damson, the putamen or nut hard 4-celled. Roxb. Fl. Lid. iii. p. 84. G. Rheedii, Hook. Bot. Mag. I. 4395, and JValps Ann. iii. 239. 

 Cumbulu, ftheede Mai. i. t. 41 ;— Wight Ic. 1470. 



This valuable timber tree is common in every district in the Presidency (dry forests), and is also found in Ceylon, Bengal and Birmah ; 

 it ascends the mountains to about 5000 feet elevation; it has generally only a short thick trunk, but I have often met with very fine trees in the 

 richer parts of our forests and in ravines. It is called Goomar-teh and Pedda gomru in Teligu, Gumadi in Tamil, Goombari in Goormur, Shewan in 

 the Bombay Presidency, and Atdemmatain Ceylon; it flowers in February and March. The wood is highly valuable, much resembling teak, as light 

 or lighter, the color the same and the gram rather closer, never warps or shrinks, and stands the action of water as well as any wood; it appears 

 however to be very little known or utilised in most districts in this Presidency ; the natives use it in some parts for building purposes, decking of 

 small vessels, and carving images and other purposes ; in Bombay it is much in use for carriage panels, in the Godavery districts the yokes for 

 bullocks are generally made of it ; it mokes excellent packing cases, palanquins, &c, and takes varnish very well; the bark and root are used medi- 

 cinally. 



Analysis. 



1. Base of a 5-nerved leaf, underside showing 2 large hollow glands. 



2. A flower bud. 



3, 4. Views of the full flower. 



5. Bracts. 



6. Corol opened. 



7. Front, back and side views of the anthers, filament glanduloso-pilose; 



8. Calyx, ovary, style and simple recurved stigma. 



9. A 2-cleft Btigma. 



10. A 3-cleft stigma. 



11. A 4-cleft stigma. 



12. Ovary cut vertically, ovules pendulous. 



13. Ovary cut transversely, 4 cells each with 1 ovule. (All drawn fvim living specimens.) 



253 



