HELICIA ROBUST A. (Nat. order Proteaceee.) 



HELICIA, Lour.— GEN. CHAR. Flowers hermaphrodite. Perianth regular, the tube Blender, the lamina small, the segments all much 

 tevolute when separating. Anthers on Bhort filaments inserted a little below the laminse, the connective produced into a short appendage. Hypogynous 

 glands equal, distinct or united in a ring or cup round the ovary. Ovary sessile, with a long straight style, slightly thickened at the end with a terminal 

 stigma ; ovules 2, ascending laterally attached near the base. Fruit hard, nearly globular, indehiscent. Seeds either solitary and globular or two together 

 and hemispherical ; testa veined or rugose, cotyledons thick and fleshy. Trees or tall shrubs, leaves alternate, entire or toothed. Flowers pedicellate 

 in pairs, in terminal or axillary simple racemes, the pedicels of each pair often more or less connate. Bracts very deciduous (or sometimes none ?) 



HELICIA EOBUSTA. (Wall.) A good sized tree, young shoots rufo-pubescent, leaves oblong or obovato-oblong acute 

 or obtuse acutely and coarsely serrate, sessile or very short petioled, thickly coriaceous, glabrous and very shining above, the veinleta 

 prominent and densely reticulated, 5-8 inches long by 2-3 inches broad, racemes axillary or from the old axils or truncal 1-3 together, 

 about 4 inches long rather densely flowered, peduncles about 1 line long furnished with a minute bract at the base, 2-flowered, pedicels 

 about 3 lines long furnished with a small bracteole below the centre, perianth 10-12 lines long greenish yellow fragrant soon splitting 

 down into 4 revolute very narrow segments, previous to which the free segments at the apex are narrow-oval and about 1 J lines long, 

 hypoaynous glands connate into a 4-crenated cup, fruit about the size of a cherry. Wallich List. n. 2702. Khopala robusta, Eoxb, 

 Fl. Inch, Ed. Carey., vol. i. p. 366. Helicia Travancorica, Bedd. in Distrib. 



A very handsome tree, not uncommon on banks of streams on the Travancore and Tinnevelly mountains above. Paupanassam at about 

 4000 feet elevation, but not observed elsewhere in the presidency ; it also inhabits Eastern Bengal and Birmah. The South-Indian form has smaller 

 and more sessile leaves than the Bengal tree, but it answers too closely to the descriptions of that species to be considered specifically distinct. I 

 inow nothing of its timber or uses. 



Analysis. 



1. Portion of a raceme highly magnified, peduncles 2-flowered, pedicels each with a small bracteole below the middle. 



2. A flower, calyx or perianth 4-lobed, no corol, stamens 4 



3. A flower bud. 



4. A young flower. 



5. Calyx opened, shewing the ovary aud the bypogynous glands connate in a cup. 



6. A segment of the calyx, shewing the attachment of the anther n«ar its apex, 



7. Anther, front view. 



8. Anther, back view. 



9. Ovary, style and stigma, the bypogynous cup opened out. 



10. Ovary cut vertically, 1-celled, 2 ascending ovules attached slightly above the base of th« cell. 



1 1 . Ovary cut transversely, 



12 & 13. Fruit and seed (not quite full grown.) 



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