N. 0. BIXISE.E. 117 



long rough plates" (Gamble). Branchlets tomentose. Leaves 

 near the ends of the branchlets, palmately 5-lobed, 4-9 in. diam., 

 lobes shortly acuminate entire, grey-tomentose beneath, old 

 leaves glabrous. Petioles slender, 4-6 in. Flowers 4-5 in. 

 diam.; golden yellow in few-flowered terminal panicles. Sepals 

 silky. Petals obovate, notched. Capsules pear-shaped, 3-4 in. 

 long, 5-lobed. Flowers— February- April. Seeds covered with 

 a kind of silk-cotton, called the "Kapok" fibres of India. 



Parts used : — The gum and cotton. 



Uses : — The gum has been proposed as a substitute for 

 tragacanth. It is used in coughs, also in gonorrhoea (Indian 

 Medical Gazette, 1875, p. 39). 



In Patna, the dried leaves and flowers are used as sti- 

 mulants. (Irvine, p. 78). 



104. Bixa Orellana, Linn, h.f.b.i., i. 190. 



Vern. : — Latkan, Watkana (H. and B.) ; Kong, Kuombi 

 (Santal.) ; Jarat, Jolandhar (Ass.); Gulbas (Uriya) ; Powasi 

 ^Chittagong) ; Reipom (Manipur) Shal-ke-pandi-ka-jhar (Deck.) ; 

 Kisri, Kesari, Kesuri, Shendri (Mar. Bom.) ; Jupharachettu, Jafra 

 vittulu-chettu, Kurungu-menjivittulu-chettu (Tel.) ; Japhra- 

 maram, Jafra-virai-maram (Tam.) ; Kuppamankala, Rangamali 

 (Kan.) Korungoomunga (Mai.) Gowpurgee (H.). 



Habitat : — Cultivated throughout India for the dye. 



A large evergreen shrub or small tree. Bark brown, -§• in. 

 thick. Wood pinkish-white, soft, even-grained. Annual rings 

 marked by a line without pores. Pores moderate-sized, in 

 radial strings of 3 to 6, prominent on a vertical section. Medul- 

 lary rays fine, closely packed, bent round the pores, or groups 

 of pores, so that the distance between the rays is less than 

 the transverse diameter of the pores (Gamble). Leaves simple, 

 4-8 by 2^-5 in., cordate, acuminate, glabrous. Stipules minute. 

 Petioles slender, 2-3 in. Flowers in terminal panicles, bisexual, 

 large, 1-2 in. diam. ; pink or white ; purple say H. /. and Th. ; 

 sepals 5, imbricate deciduous. Petals 5, contorted in bud. 

 Anthers numerous, opening by two terminal pores. Ovary 

 1-celled ; style slender, curved ; stigma notched ; ovules many, 



