MYRISTICA MAL'ABAKICA. (Nat. order Myristicese.) 



-For Gen, Char, see letter-press to PI. cclxvii. 



M.YRISTICA MalABARICA. (Lam.) A rather small very elegant tree, young parts very minutely puberulous, leaves 

 elliptic-lanceolate, scarcely coriaceous, about equally attenuated at both ends, glabrous on both sides, dull colored above, dull brown or 

 glaucous beneath, 4-8 inches long by 1|-2J broad, primary veins inconspicuons on both sides, petioles 6-12 lines long channelled above. 

 Male, cymes axillary or from the old axils below the leaves 1-2 inches long generally cymosely branched, bi-trichotornous rarely simple, 

 flowers much more numerous than iu the female and smaller, umbelled at the apex of the brauchlets, pedicels 2-6 lines long, perianth 

 minutely puberulous or subglabrous, subglobose, 3-4 -cleft at the apex, about 2 lines in length and breadth furnished on one side at the 

 base with a semicircular sub 3-lobed bract which is very much broader than high, anthers 10-15 covering more than f of the column, 

 the short naked base very hairy, the column not at all or only slightly produced above the anthers. Female, peduncles axillary 4-8 

 lines long generally simple with 3 umbelled pedicels at the apex, rarely once branched and bearing 5-6 flowers, pedicels 3-4 lines long, 

 perianth larger than in the male about 3 lines each way slightly puberulous 3-4 cleft and rather contracted just below the lobes, 

 furnished with a similar bract to that in the male, ovary globose hairy, stigma 2-cleft glabrous, fruit oblong 2 inches long J inch broad 

 more or less pubescent. Lam, Act. Paris. 1788, p. 162 ; — Flora Indica H. /. et T. p. 163. 



This very elegant tree is very common in the dense moist forests in the plains of South Ca'nara and northern pari of Malabar not far 

 from the ghats, where it is xoell known by the Canarese name Kdnagi, but I have not observed it further south ; ii ayiswers so wellto the description 

 of M. Malabarica in the Ftora Indica, that I have no hesitation in referring it to that species, though specimens which I have forwarded to Keu> 

 were not identified ; at any rale the description of that species in the Flora Indica cannot be referred to any other of our 5 indigenous species, all 

 of which I figure, 1 have received specimens of this tree from Mr. JDahell from the Concan forests (labelled M. attenuata, which species however 

 belongs to the section Knema.) 



Analysis. 



1. A branch of the female tree in Sower (life size) shewing the 3-flowered umbelliferous peduncles (they are rarely once branched 



with 5-6 flowers.) 



2. Three and four-cleft female flowers, shewing the broad sub 3-lobed bract half surrounding the base of the perianth. 



3. A 3-cleft perianthopened. 



4. The globose hairy ovary and stigma. 



5. The same cut vertically. 



6. Branch of a male tree in flower (life size) shewing the more compound inflorescence, the flowers smaller than in the female. 



7. A 3-cleft female flower. 



8. A 4-cleft female flower. 



9. The same open. 



10. The antheriferous column almost entirely covered by the anthers, the very, short naked base very hairy. 



11. Fruit. (Drawn from flowers in spirits.) 



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