140 XXIX. MELIACEiE [Melia 



8, MELIA, Linn. ; PL Brit. Ind. i. 543. 



Trees with bipitiBate or tripinnate leaves, calyx segments 5-1)^ short. Petals 

 5-6, litiear-spathulate. Stamens 10-12, monadelphous ; anthers inserted on 

 the edge of the tn"be between the teeth. Ovary 3-6-celled, 2 superposed ovules 

 in each cell. Er. a dry or fleshy drupe, the stone 5-celled, each cell with one 

 pendulous seed, cotyledons foliaceous, albumen thin. Species 12, Indo- 

 Malayan. 



1. M. Azedarach, Linn.; Wight Ic. t. 160; Eedd. PL Sylv. t. 13. 

 Persian Lilac. Vern. Brck, Pb. ; Bakaiii, Hind. ; Dek, Dim ; Yerrl vepa^ 

 Titraka vcjoa^ Tel. ; Hutcliu bcvu^ Kan. ; VevihUj Tarn., Mai. 



A middle-sized deciduous tree, young shoots and inflorescence sparsely clothed 

 with deciduous stellate hairs, heartwood ligh.t red, annual rings marked by a belt 

 of large vessels. Pinnse 3-4 pair, more or less opposite. Leaflets 3-12, ovate- 

 lanceolate, more or less deeply serrate, sometimes lobed. PL lilac, with a 

 strong honey-scent. Staminal tube purple, ^ in. long, teeth 20-30, linear, 

 anthers glabi-ous, shorter than or as long as teeth. Stigma clavate 5-toothed. 

 Drupe yellow when ripe, 3-4 in. long. 



Cultivated and naturalized throughout India and Burma. Stands nioie cold than the 

 2^66711^ grows at 9,000 feet in Bashahr (Chini). Supposed to be indigenous in Baluchistan 

 and the Jheliim valley in Kashmir. PL H. S. 



2. M. composita, Willd. ; Bedd. PL Sylv. t. 12: Kins; in Journ. As. 

 Soc. Bengal, vol. 64 (1895) IB. Syn. 31. rohusta, Eoxb. PL Ind. ii. 397 ; 

 31. dubia^ PL Brit. Ind. i. 545 (not Cav.). Vern. Labshij JSTep. ; Maha limbic, 

 Uriya ; Ileb-bevii^ Kan. ; 3Ialei Vembio, Tarn., Mai. 



A tall tree of rapid growth, heartwood reddish. Young shoots and inflores- 

 cence clotbed with mealy stellate hairs. L. bipinnate, leaflets opposite, 

 ovate-lanceolate, sometimes serrulate. PL white, staminal tube \ in. long, 

 hairy, mouth woolly, divided into 10 more or less laciniate teeth, anthers 

 longer than teeth and inserted between them. Stigma 5-toothed, Drupe 

 ovoid 1-11- in. 



Sikkim, ascending to 6,000 ft. (Gamble List 16), Nambar Forest, Assam (D.B. March, 

 1879) Grumsur hills, Northern Circars. Western Ghats from Bomhay southwards. PL 

 Jan.-Mareh. Ceylon, Malay Peninsu-la, Cochinchina, Java, China, Australia. Specimens 

 from the Kliasi hills and Manipur, the staminal tube J in. long, drupe nearly globose, 

 % in. long, have been referred to M. Toosendan^ Sieb. et Zucc. of Japan. Hardly different 

 is 31. hirmanicaj Kurz, P. PL i. 213 (Taiu tJiamaka, Burm.), Pegu, Bhamo, bupposed by 

 King to be identical with M. superha^ Boxb. 



9. CARAPA, Aublet ; PL Brit. Ind. i. 56G. 



Evergreen glabrous trees. L. paripinnate, leaflets opposite, quite entire. 

 PL bisexual, in axillary panicles. Calyx short, in the Indian species dentate, 

 petals 4, edges slightly overlapping, contorted in bud. Staminal tube urceo- 

 late or globose, mouth 8-dentate, anthers inserted between the teeth, nearly 

 included. Ovary glabrous, 4-celled, the base immersed in the thick fleshy disk, 

 cells with 2-8 ovules, style short, stigma broad discoid. Pr. globose, large, 

 pericarp fleshy, dehiscing by 4 valves. Seeds large angular without albumen, 

 cotyledons contain starch, and oil. Species 6, tropical, mostly littoral. 



1. C. obovata, Blame; Kurz, P. PL L 226.— Syn. C. moluccensls, Bedd. 

 PL Sylv. t. 1B6 (not of Lamk.) ; Xylocarptcs obovatus^ A. Juss. ; Harms in 

 Engler u. Prantl iii. 4. 278. Vern. PinU 6n, Burm.; Karambola^ Dlnindol^ 

 Sund. 



A small tree, heartwood reddish-brown, hard, leaves 3-6 in. long, leaflets 

 1-2 pair, coriaceous, obovate, apex broad, obtuse, base narrowed. Panicles 

 1^-2| in. long, stout, few-flowered. Pruit 7-10 in. dfam. 



