TRICHOSANTHES DIOICA — AMARANTUS PANICULA1US. 



23 



TRICHOSANTHES DIOICA, Roxh* 



Palwal (Hind.). 



Natural order Cucurbitacece. A dioecious climbing herb with woolly and somewhat scabrous 

 stems ; tendrils bifid ; leaves cordate, oblong, acute. The fruit is about 4 inches long, pointed at 

 either end, and of an orange-red colour. 



This small gourd is cultivated to a certain extent in these Provinces. As a wild 

 plant it occurs throughout N. India from the Punjab to E. Bengal. Roxburgh consi- 

 dered it to be the most useful species of Trickosanthes with which he was acquainted, 

 and says that it is much cultivated by the natives about Calcutta during the rainy 

 season. In Upper India it is sown from May to July. The plants are allowed to trail 

 along the ground or are supported on trees. Mr. Gollan tells me that trailing plants 

 are considered to bear better fruit. It is generally eaten in curries. 



AMARANTUS PANICULATUS, Lmn.t 



{Vide Plate LXVIIL] 



Marsa, chua, chua-ma'rsa, anardana, bathu (N.-W. Himalaya). 



Natural order Amarantaceae. A tall handsome species with stout stems and ovate lanceolate 

 acute or acuminate leaves on long stalks. Flowers densely crowded in long thick squarish red or 

 golden coloured spikes ; bracts and sepals with long awns ; seeds pale yellow, reddish or quite black. 



Cultivated during the rainy season in many parts of India, and up to 9,500 feet 

 on the Himalaya, where it becomes a conspicuous feature in the landscape during the 

 autumn months. It is sown in May and June. Atkinson says that the produce of an 

 acre is worth Es. 16, and that the estimated outlay is about half that sum. The 

 grain is parched, and forms the staple food of the lower classes. It is a favorite crop 

 in newly cleared jungle, and is not easily injured by bears and deer. 



Regarding this plant, Madden says : — 



" Anardana implies the supposed resemblance of the grains to the carpels of the pomegranate. 

 " 1 never met any one who used the name, and incline to think ' AmarMna] as Dr. Hamilton once 



* References :— Fl. Br. Ind , II, 609 ; Koxb., Fl. Ind. (Clarke's Ed.), 701 ; Atkinson, Him. Dist., I., 699 ; Econom. 

 Prod., N.-W. Prov., V., 4. 



t Fl. Br. Ind , IV., 718 ; Church, Food Grains of India, 107. A. frummtacens, Ham. ; Roxb., Fl. Ind. (Clarke's Ed.), 

 663 ; Atkinson, Him. Dist., I., 697 ; Madden, Trans. Bot. Soc., Edin., (1857) ; DC, L'Orig. PI. Cult., 282. A. Anardana, 

 Ham. ; Watt, Diet. Econom. Prod., 1,210; Stewart, Punj. PI., 181. 



