188 ASACARBIACE^. [Sbmecaepus. 



oblong, 1-celled ; styles 3-4^ stout ; ovule pendulous from the top of 

 the cell. Drupe small, compressed, reniform, crowned by the distant 

 styles ; stone hard. Seed compressed. Embryo curved. — Species about 

 12, mostly African. 



O. Wodier, Eosr&. Hart Beng. 29; M. Ind. ii, 293; W. Sf A. Prod. 

 171 ; Boyle Til. 180, t. 81, f. 2; D. Sf Q. Bomb. Ft. 51; Brand. For. Fl. 

 123 ; F. B. I. ii, 29; Watt K. D. Vern. Jhingan. — The specific name 

 ' Wodier ' is derived from a Tamil word. 



A moderate-sized deciduous tree, with a thick trank and exfoliating 

 bark. Branches few ; young parts clothed with stellate down. Leaves 

 12-18 in. long ; petioles terete ; leaflets 3-5 pairs, stalked, 3-6 in, long, 

 oblong- ovate, candate-acuminate. Flowers 4-merGUs, fascicled. Sepals 

 obtuse, ciliate. Petals twice as long, oblong, spreading, purplish and 

 greenish -yellow. Male fl. in compound racemes. Stamens 8, as long 

 as the petals. Fem fl.: in simple racemes. Ovary surrounded at the 

 base by short sterile stamens. Drupe on a short pedicel, glabrous, red 

 when ripe. 



In dry forests throughout the area. Distbib.: Hotter parts of India 

 from the Indus and along the foot of the Himalaya, up to 4,000 ft., to 

 Assam, Burma, the Andaman Islands and Ceylon. Flowers March and 

 April, before the leaves appear. A yellowish-white gum is collected 

 from the bark, and is much used in calico-printing, and also medi- 

 cinally. The bark is employed for dyeing tassar silk, and also as a 

 tanning material. Various parts of the tree are used medicinally. 

 The leaves and young shoots afford fodder for cattle; and the close- 

 grained heartwood, which seasons well, is used for many purposes. 



5. Semecarpus, Lino. f. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii, 30. 



Trees. Leaves alternate, simple, entire, coriaceous. Flowers small, 

 polygamous or dioecious, in terminal, rarely axillary panicles. Calyx 

 5-6-fid, segments deciduous. PetaU 5-6, imbricate. Dish broad, an- 

 nular. Stamens 5-6, inserted at the base of the disk Ovary 1-celled ; 

 styles 3 ; ozjw^e pendulous from a basal funicle. Drupe fleshy obli- 

 quely oblong or subglobose, seated on a fleshy receptacle formed of 

 the thickened disk and calyx base JPericarf loaded with acrid resin. 

 Seed pendnlous, testa coriaceous, inner coat somewhat fleshy. 

 — Species about 40, natives of Trop. Asia and Australia, 



S. Anacardium, Linn. f. Suppl. 182. Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii,83; W & A, 

 Prod. 168; D. Sf Q. Bomb. Fl. 52; Brand. For. Fl. 124 ; F. B. I. ii, 30; 

 Watt E.J). Yevn. Bhildwa, (The Marking-nut tree) . 



A medium-sized dioecions or polygamous deciduous tree with a rough 

 dark-clouredbark, yielding an acrid juice. Young parts leaves beneath 

 and panicles pale tomentose. Leaves very large, crowded towards the 



