12 



6. MENISPERMACEiE. 



[Cocculns. 



Endocarp tuberculale, borse-slioe-shaped, sides excavate ; seed curved, 

 albumen fleshy ; embryo annular ; cotyledons linear, flat, adpressed. 



Leaves more or less glabrons, snb-otbicular, long 



petioled. Flowers in large panicles* Drupe 



1 in, in diam. ... ... ... 1. C. mOrCrocarpus. 



Leaves ovate, villous. Flowers in short panicles. 



Drupe ^ in. ... •.. ... 2. C. villoms. 



Leaves oblong or trapezoid, glabra te, Male 



flowers fascicled. Female flowers solitary. 



Drupe i to ^ in. ... ... ... 3. C, Leceba. 



1. C' macrocarpus, W. & A. Prodr. 13 ; FI. Br. L 1. 101 ; DaK >& 

 Gibs. Bomb. Fl. 5. VatoU, vatyel, ramrich, M. 



Western Ghats from the Konkan southwards ; also in Ceylon, Konkan ; 

 North Kanara, along banks of rivers and nalas and in moist forests, 

 locally abundant. Fl. Feb. -March. Fr. May. 



2. a villosus, DO. Prod. I. 98 ; Fl. Br. I. 1 . 101 ; Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. 

 Fl. 5 ; Brandis For. Fl. 9» Kursan, zamir^ Sind, Vasanvel, parirel, M. ; 

 Vasandi, Sans.^ 



Dry and arid parts of India from Sind to Bengal and southwards to 

 Madras ; absent from Ceylon ; also in the dry regions of Africa. Com- 

 mon in hedges throughout the dry parts of the Presidency and Sind. 

 Fl. Feb.-March. Boot a substitute for sarsaparilla. Juice of the leaver 

 mixed with water coagulates into a green jelly. 



3. C. Leseba, DC. Prod. I. 99 ; Fl. Br. I. 1. 102 ; Brandis For. FL 9. 

 Ullar-hillar, Sind. 



Dry and arid regions of India, Punjab, Sind and the Carnatic j dry 

 regions of Africa. Flowers throughout the year. 



Used as a substitute for " Anamirta Cocculus " berries. 



5. STEPHANIA, Lour. 



Climbing shrubs with peltate leaves. Flowers in axillary, cymose 

 umbels, very deciduous. Male fl. : Sepals 6-10. Petals 3-5, fleshy. 

 Anthers 6, connate at top of staminal column^ transversely dehiscent. 

 Female fl. : Sepals 3-5. Petals of the male. Ovary 1 j style 3-6- 

 divided ; drupe ovoid, glabrous, red ; endocarp compressed, horse-shoe- 

 shaped, dorsally tubercled ; sides perforated. Seed nearly annular ; 

 cotyledons long, slender, ad pressed. 



S. liernandifolia, Walp. Rep. 1. 96 ; Fl. Br. I. 1. 103; Dalz. & Gibs. 

 Bomb. FL 6. 



Nepal to Chittagong ; Western Peninsula from the Konkan to Ceylon ; 

 Malay Peninsula ; Tropical Australia and Africa ; common throughout 

 the Konkan and North Kanara in moist situations, often in hedges, 

 FI Aug. Fr. Oct. Sle^ns slender- 



