Slrombosia.] 



27. OLACINE^. 



85 



small, white, pentamerons, in axillary fascicles or on wo^dy tubercles ; 

 buds globose. Calyx lobes more or less indistinct, ciliate. Petals valvate, 

 hairy within at the tips, '12 in. Stamens adnate to the petals. Disk 

 epigynous, red. Ovary 5-celled ; stjle short. Fruit globose, green, 

 glabrous or scaly, '75 in. in diameter. Seed globose, '5 in., finely rugose ; 

 albumen firm. 



This tree sometimes attains a considerable size. I have measured 

 one near Souda (North Kdnara) which was 100 ft. high by 3*5 ft. in 

 diameter near the base and possessing a straight cylindrical trunk. 



Branches pendulous. Bark smooth, white or grey, scaly ; inner bark 

 brown, fibrous. Wood reddish, hard, smooth and close-grained. Pores 

 very small, single or in lines between the very fine, close medullary rays, 

 the diameter of the pores equalling the distance between the rays. 

 Annual rings distinct. Weighs 60 lbs. to the cubic foot. Distinct from 

 S. ceylanica^ Gardn., to which species it is united in the Fl. Br. I. on the 

 authority of Beddome (Fl. Syl. t. 137), who states that he has only poor 

 specimens of the Kanara plant. Bipe fruits of 8. ceylanica, are about half 

 as large as those of the Kanara tree, which has also shining leaves. The 

 leaves of 8. ceylanica, Gardu., are dull like those of Lepionuvus, 



On the Konkan and l!Torth Kinara ghdts, in evergreen forests. Flowers 

 in December. Fruit ripe May. 



5. CAWSJERA, Juss. 



Climbing spiny shrubs. Leaves simple, 1-nerved, Flowers brac- 

 teate in dense, axillary spikes. Perianth urceolate, 4-lobed. Fertile 

 stamens 4, opposite the perianth lobes ; staminodes 4-5, triangular 

 glands, alternate with the stamens. Ovary 1-celied ; style cylindric ; 

 stigma capitate, exserted, ovule 1, pendulous. Fruit a drupe ; 

 albumen fleshy; radicle superior ; cotyledons 2-3, very long, plano- 

 convex. 



This genus is placed by many authors in the Thymelaceae. 



C. Rheedii, Gmel. Syst. I. 280 ; Fl. Br. I. 1. 582 ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. Anal. 

 Gen. t. AXV^I ; Brandis For. Fl. 75. Bodbahka, K. 



Upper Gangetic plain ; in the forests of Oudh, Eastern and Western 

 Peninsulas, N. Australia, on the Konkan and I^orth Kanara ghdts, in 

 evergreen moist forests. FL Nov. -Dec. Fruit ripe in May. 



6. GOMPHANDRA, Wall. 



Small trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, simple. Flowers poly- 

 gamo-dioecious or hermaphrodite^ in axillary cymes. Calyx minute, 

 4-5-lobed. Corolla campanulate, 4-5-lobed ; lobes with a prominent 

 rib within. Stamens 5 ; filaments thick, hollowed in front to contain 

 the anthers, hairy at back. Disk hypogynous, thick, annular or 0. 

 Ovary 1-celled ; ovules 2, collateral ; funicle dilated into an obturator. 

 Fruit a drupa ; stone crustaceous ; albumen fleshy, bipartite ; embryo 

 minute. 



