N. 0. I,INEiE. 
227 
Habitat : — Hilly parts of the Western Peninsula; Ceylon, 
dry country. 
A shrub or small tree. “ Bark dark brown, thick, rough. 
Wood very hard. Sapwood white; heartwood 'dark reddish- 
brown, with a pleasant resinous smell ; takes a beautiful polish. 
Pores very small, very numerous, often in radial strings or 
patches in lighter tissue. Medullary rays short, very fine, 
uniformly distributed ” (Gamble). Leaves cuneate, l-2in. long, 
dull, not shining, glaucous-brown beneath, when dry; stipules 
triangular, long, acuminate. Pedicels about as long as the 
petiole. Flowers greenish-white, axillary generally in fascicles 
of 1-4, bisexual, pentainerous. Calyx 5-lobed. Petals with a 
scale, generally bifid at the top of the claw. Stamens 10. 
Styles 3, combined nearly at the apex longer than the stamens. 
Stigmas clavate. Drupe oblong, triangular, 3-celled, 2 of the 
cells long, abortive ; apiculate, bright scarlet when ripe, support- 
ed by the persistent sepals and stamens. 
Parts used : — The leaves, wood and bark. 
Uses Dr. Bidie says that “ during the Madras famine the 
leaves were largely eaten by the starving poor, and as there 
is nothing in them structurally likely to satisfy the pangs of 
hunger, it seems probable that they contain some principle like 
that of E. Cocoa.” 
Subsequently, the leaves were examined by Dr. Waddel, 
Officiating Professor of Chemistry, Calcutta Medical College, for 
alkaloid, but he could not discover any. ( Vide I.M.G., September 
1884.) 
According to Dr. Moodeen Sheriff, an infusion of the wood 
and bark is stomachic, diaphoretic and stimulant diuretic ; 
useful in some slight cases of dyspepsia and continued fever, 
and also in dropsy as an adjuvant to some other and more active 
medicines. The leaves are refrigerant. 
Dr. Bidie mentions the powder as used medicinally as a 
substitute for sandal wood. 
The pulp beaten into a liniment with gingelly oil is used as 
an external application to the head. 
