190 ANACABDIACJS^, [Spondus. 



6-lobed. Fertile stamen 1, the others reduced to short filaments ; 

 anther purple. Ovary glabrous. Drupe 2-6 in. long, laterally compressed. 



Hilly parts of the Gonda and Bahraich districts of Oudh (Brandis), and pro- 

 bably in other localities within the area. DiSTEiB.: Tropical Himalaya 

 from Garhwal to the Bhutan andKhasia Hills, up to 3,00(i ft., Behar and 

 on the hills of C. and S. India. Cultivated throughout the greater part 

 of India, and in most tropical countries. Flowets during March and 

 April, and the fruit ripens during the early part of the rainy season, 

 though some kinds are obtainable as early as May and others are avail- 

 able as late as November. Over 600 distinct varieties have been enu- 

 merated. The finest fruits are usually obtained from grafts, but in 

 some favoured iocalities seedlings of good kinds produce the same 

 variety. For other useful products yielded by this tree Dr. Watt's 

 Dictionary should be consulted. 



7. SpondiaS} Linn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii, 42. 



Deciduous glabrous trees. Leaves usually crowded at the ends of 

 the branches, alternate, odd-pinnate. Leaflets sub-opposite, usually 

 caudate-acuminate Panicles terminal, spreading. Flowers small, 

 polygamous. Calyx small, 4-5-fid., deciduous, lobes slightly imbri- 

 cate. Petals 4-5-spreading, sub-valvate. Disk cupular, broad, 

 crenate. Stamens 8-10, inserted beneath the disk. Ovary sessile^ 

 free, 4-5-celled ; styles 4-5, conniving. ; ovules solitary, pendulous 

 in the cells. Lrupe fleshy ; stone hard, thick, 1-5-celled. Seeds 

 pendulous, testa membrauous.— Species about 8, all tropical. 



S. mangifera, WilU. SpPl. ii, 751 ; Boxh. Fl. Ind. ii, 451 ; W. &■ A. 

 Prod. 173 ; Botjle III. 119 ; D. <^ G. Bomb. FL. Sappl. 19 ; Brand. For. Fl. 

 128 ; F. B. I. ii, 42 ; Watt E. D. Vern. Amhdra, amra. (Hog-plum.) 



A small tree with greyish bark. Leaves 1-1^ it.; petiole slender; leaflets 

 4-6 pairs, 2-9 in. long, shortly stalked, oblong, acuminate, entire, more or 

 less oblique, shining; nerves 10-30 on each side, horizontal, joined by a 

 strong intramar^inal one. Panicles 1-2 ft., spreading, sparingly branched. 



'■ Flowers^ in. across, uni- or bisexual. Cai t/ a; 5-toothed Petals oblong, 

 greenish-white. Dish 10-toothed. Filaments short, subulate. Drujae 

 H-2 in. long, yellow, smooth ; flesJi. very austere ; stone cavernous, 

 fibrous outside. Seeds 1-3, usually one perfect. 



Dry forests of Dehra Dun, Saharanpur, Eohilkhand, Oudh and Gorakhpur. 

 DiSTEiB. : From the Indus eastward, and south to Ceylon, ascending to 

 5,000 ft on the Himalaya ; also in Burma and the Malay Peninsula; often 

 cultivated. The tree is leafless from December until April when the 

 flowers appear, and the fruit ripens during the cold season. An insipid 

 darkish-coloured gum exudes from the bark "Various parts of the tree 

 are used medicinally. The ac'd astringent fruit is eaten, but usually as a 

 pickle. It is greedily eaten by deer and cattle. 



