Piwfc/e very Lngo, icnninul, clin'iise. bearing great numbers of
middle-sized, wliitc, inodorous flowers.
Pcdmtcle and Fcdlcds round and smooth.
Brads very minntc.
Ci»/j,v below, five-lcnved: Lcqfieh ovaI dcciduous,
Pchdi live, ¡nvcrsc-cgged, obtuse, concave, expanding.
Xeclmj not quite half the length o[ the petals, a little bellied:
mouth ten-toothed, teeih bifid.
Filanwils ten, very short, inserted just within tlie mouth of the
nectary.
AMcn ovA.
Ga-m conical.
Sly/e thick, tapering.
Siignm lai ge, targeted, shutting up the mouth of the nectary.
Crip.mle egged, large, five-celled, fivc-valved: valvelets gaping
IVom the lop.
ill the centrc, large, spongy, five-angled: angles sharp,
and connected with the sutures of the capsule, between tliem
deeply sulcatcd.
Seeds miiny in eacl. cell, Imbricated, obliquely wedge-shaped, enlarged
by a long membranaceous wing, inserted at the upper
])oint of tlic wing into a long blown speck, on the upper part
of tl>e excavations of the receptacle; all the rest of the receptacle
is white.
This is a very large tree, a native of the motuuainous parts of the
Riijahmundry Circar, north of Saniulcotali and Pedda|5ore. It
flowers about the end of the cold, or beginning of the hot season.
Seeds ripen in three or four months after.
The wood ol' this tree is of a dull red colour, remarkably hard
and heavy; itis reckoned by the iiativcsby far the most durablewood
they know, on that account it is nscd for all the wood work hi their
temples, it is also very serviceable for various other purposes.
The bark is internally of a light red colour; a decoction dyes
brown of various sh;Kles, according as the cloth has been prepared,
See. Its taste is a bitter and adstringent conjoined, and very strong,
particularly the bitter, at the same time not any way nauseous or
otherwise disagreeable, for the ¡litter, although strong, is rather
more palatable than most others 1 have tasted.
In the plate the dissected llower is magnified; the fruit of its
Pifiicf/s j0inted at the ra idd 1 e, and three-bracted.
Bract3, a small acute one under the insertion of each pediccl, and
another smaller at the joint
Flowers large, nearly white, very beautifully fringed and waved,
very fragrant.
Cdyx below, {ive-leaved, or to the base five-parted: Leajlcls oblong,
permanent; there is only one gland on the whole calyx, it is
large, oblong;, smooth, elevated, chesnnt-coloured, placed
pardy on the two upper leaflets, and partly on the pediccl,
permanent.
Pelids fi>-e, unequal, irregular, claws short, they are totally reflected
back towards the raceme; the lower two are oval; the next
two lateral above orbicular; the superior petal broader, lies
back over the rest, is beautifully tinged with yellow in the
middle ; all are most beautifully fringed louiid the margin,
Filamails ten, of which the lower one is twice the length and thickness
of the rest; all are ascending,
Aidkers egged, equal.
Gams three, united as it were into one tliree-lobed body.
Style single, ascending, about as long as the large stamen.
Stigma simple, incurved.
from one to three, globular, size of a large pea, one-celled,
one-valved, not opening, cach is enlarged with three unequal
spreading, membranaceous, wedge-shaped, obtuse wings, besides
a small erect one in the centre.
Seed single, globular, aflixed to the bottom of the capsule.
It is a large climbing woody shrub, a native of the Circ;u- mountains.
Flowering time the wet and cold season. It is cultivated in
our eardens all over the coast, on account of the beauty and fra-
18. G^RTNERA RACEMOSA.
Gratncra. Schrcb.gen. 73i.
Molina raccmosa. Gavanill.mmiad. p. 4 35. ^ 263.
Hiptage Madablota. Garlu-scm. 2. 15 9. 1 i G.
Madablota. Banisteria teiraptera. Smmaal voyage aux Indes, 2.
/<. iiS.Jab. 135.
Banisteria unieapsnlaris. Lnviarck encycl. I./;.367,
Banisteria benghalensis. Linn. s^ec. jdanl. 511.
Vcd:d-ehittoo of the Telingas.
Trimk and Branches climbing. Bark covered with light coloured
scabrous dots.
Leaves opposite, short-petioled, oblong, waved, pointed, entire,
smooth, shining; sm;ill glands round the under edge of the
margin, and two larger at its termination in the petiole, about
four to six inches long and two broad.
Raceme terminal, tliongh sometimes from the exterior axills, corynibe
Uke while flowering.
19. BASSIA LATIFOLIA.
Maliwah Tree, rransad. ojIke Society of Bengal, vol. 1. /;. 500.
Ipie of the Telingas.
I l l i p a y o f t h e Tamuls.
Oil Tree of the English.
rrmk sti-alght, but short, covered with smooth ash-coloured Bark.
Branches very nume.ous; the lower spreading horizontally.
Leaves alternate, petioled, crowded about the c.\tremities of the
branches, oblong, rigid, .smooth above, below somewhat whitish,
from four to eight inches long, and from two to four
broad.
Petiole round, about an inch long.
Slijmles none.
F/oa-iri numerous, crowded from the extremities of the generally
naked branchlets, peduncled, at all times bowing (bent, with
tlie mouth of the flower directly to the ground).
Pedwieles ;ibout an inch long, round, thickened, covered with rustcoloured
down.
Calyx as in the genus.
Carol: tube as in the genus; border from seven to four teen-parted.
Stamen. Pistil, and as in the genus.
Seeds from one to foi n-, generally one or two, oblong, pointed at the
Is of a middling size, a native of the mountainous parts of the
coast; casts its leaves during the cold season, they appear again
n Mai-ch and April. Seed ripe in Jul y and
with the ilo'
Atigust.
This is a very useful tree; the wood i
cry strong, and
proper for naves of wheel-carriages, kc.
The flower-s are eat raw by the natives of the moui
IS parts
of the Circars; the jackals also eat them. They have
tuous taste, and a spirit, which is strong andincoxicating, is.distlllcd
from them by the hill people. Tlie seeds yield a Uirge quantity of
oil by e.Kpression, but it is thick, and of a quality inferior to castor
oil, and used only b y the poorer people to burn.
On the apices of the flowers, before they open, there is frequently
a drop of a whitish, soft, tasteless resin to be found.
Ra\
20. DILLENIA PENTAGYNA.
im of the Telingas.
Trunk erect, very large.
Branches numerous, ascending.
Leaves alternate, petioled, about the extremities of the branchlets,
oblong, pointed, sharp-sawed, having large elevated parallel
veins, smooth, shining, except when very young, then downy,
from twelve to twenty inches long, and from four to sh broad.
Peliiilc about two inches long, deep channelled, embracing the
branchlets, leaving a permanent mark when it falls ofF.
Pedmdes collected in bundles from tuberosities over the naked
woody two or three ye;irs old branchlets, erect, round, smooth,
two inches long, undivided, one-flowered.
Bracts no other than the rust-colourcd downy scales that surround
the insertion of the peduncles.
Flotoers middle-sized, )^ellow.
Calyx as in ihe genus.
Petals oblong, or lanced.
Filnmenls many, of ^vh¡ch the interior ten are twice the length of
the rest.
Anthers sword-shaped: those of the short or exterior filaments arc
erect; of the long filainents twice the size of the others, and
sj>read out over them in form of a star.
Germs five.
Styles five, short.
^/¿¿mfli lanced, spreading.
Pericarp pendulotis, size of a small nutmeg; the firm, fleshy leaflets
of the caly.x (here not increased in size) surround and entirely
inclose five small soft capsules, which contain a soft transparent
gluten.
Seeds rcnlform, few come to maturity, generally one, rarely two, in
each capsule.
This tree is a native of the valleys far up among the mountains;
it flowers in March and April,
In the plate the dissected flower and germ are magnified; tlie
fruit of its natural size, when ripe ; the seed magnified.
21. BUTEA FRONDOSA,
Ei ythrina monosperma. Lamarck encycl. 2. 3 91,
Plaso. Rheed. mul. 6. p. 29. tab. 15, 17.
Madugaof the Telingas,
Tnmk Irregular, generallyalittle crooked, covered with ash-coloured,
spongy, thick, slightly scabrous Bark, the middle strata of
which containaredji.lce, hereafter tobe mentioned.
Brandies very irregularly bent In various directions; young shoots
Leaves alternate, sprc;idingi three'd, from eight to sixteen Inches
long, Leajlets emarglnated, or ronnded at the apex, leathery,
above shining and pretty smootli, below slightly hoary, entire;
the lateral arc obliquely oval, from five to seven inches
long, and from three to four and a half broad; the terminal
inverse-hearted, or in other words, transversely oval, and considerably
larger than the lateral.
Common Petide xowná, when young downy, length of the leaflets,
Stipules of the petiole small, recurved, downy; of the leaflets
awlcd.
Racemes touilnal, axillary, and from tuberosities over the naked
woody branchlcts, rigid, covered with a soft, greenIsli-purplecoloured
down.
Flowers papilionaceous, pendidous, numerous, pediccled, large,
their ground colour a beautiful deep red, shaded with orange
and silver-colotired down, which gives them a mo,st elegant
appearancc.
Pedicels round, about an inch long, articulated near tiie apex, and
covered with ihe same greenish velvet-like doxvn.
Bracts, one below the insertion of each pedicel, lanced, falling;
two similar but smaller, pressing on the calyx, falling also.
Calyx belled, leathery, two-lipped ; upper lip large, scarce emarglnated;
under Up three-toothed, covercd with the same dark
green do\vn that the I'aceme and pedicels are covercd \vlth,
withering.
Corol. Banner reflected, egged, pointed, very little longer than the
wings. Wings ascending, lanced, length of iho keel. Keel below,
two-parted, ascending, large, mooned, length of tlic wings
and bainier,
Filammts one and nine, ascending in a regular semicirdc, about as
long as the coi'ol.
Anthers linear, erect.
Germ short, thick, pediceled, lanced, downy.
Style ascending, a little larger than the filaments.
Stigma small, glandulous.
Legume \>edic(Acá. large, pendulous, all but the apex, where the
seed is lodged leafy, downy, about six inches long, by two
broad, never open.s of itself.
Seed one, lodged at the |)oint of the legume, oval, much compressed,
smooth, brown, from one and a quarter to one and a half inch
long, and about one bro;id.
This Is a middle sized, or rather a large tree, not common on the
low lands of this coast, but very common among the mountains;
casts its leaves during the cold season; they come out again with the
flowers about the months of March and April; seed ripe in June
and July.
Trom natural fissures, and wounds made in the bark of this tree,
during the hot season, there issues a most beautiful red juice, which
soon hardens into a ruby-coloured, brittle, astringent gum; but it
soon loses its beautiful colour if exposed to the air. To preserve the
colotü-, the ginn must be gathered as soon as it becomes hard, and
closely corked up In a bottle.
This gum held in the flame of a candle swells, and burns away
slowly, without smell or the least flame, into a coal, and then into
fine light white ashes; held in the mouth it soon dissolves. It tastes
strongly but simply astringent; heat does not soften it, but rather