3S ASCLEITAS TINGENS.
DESCRIPTION.
Sto, iwluing. woody, wiih numerou, »¡„tag, sBoolh i,„»rf,«
exteiKling far over whatever supporters they meet wttii
Bark pretty s.nooth, when young brownish ; wheu old Jihi
»»ro7p'osi'te. petloled, cortl.te, entire, pointed, smooth on both
sides, from three to six inohes long, and from two to four
broad.
P,lak, about an ineh long, channelled, smooth.
n , « , sub.xilhry, short-peduncled, eompound.
Fdkd, rather longer than the peduncles, one-flowered, smooth,
diverffing in all directions.
numerous, pale yellow, or cream colour when they f.rst
expand, but grow gradually darker.
Cnft/.v'to the base five-cleft.
Ce«i .• Tube as long as the fruetiheation ! on the inside run hve
JeuUc ridges, ciliated with short brown hair.,: Border exp.
aitding; "divisions obliquety-oval.
Mtdan, as in the genus, with the cordate divisions of its mouth
coverin- the stamina, and lower part of the stigma.
Sla«ina: Ree°eptacles aflixed to the base of the stigma: A,M,,r,
» . " ^ f cTg l e . SH.ma globular, smooth, pcarl-eolonred, half
hid in the mouth of the tube ; round its under side ten pits
are found corresponding with the ten anthers.
OBSERV.-VTIONS.
A large, twining, shrubby plant; brought from ftgti to the
Botanic Garden at Calcutta, by Dr. Buchanan. Flowering time
the rainy season.
Dr Buchanan informed me, that from the leaves of this plant
the Biirmah people prepare a greendye. It is probable that those
people forgot to inform the D.ictor that it was necessary to dye
the cloth yellow, either before or after the application of the
colour prepared from the leaves of this plant.
ASCLEPliVS TENACISSIMA. •><>
drooping branehes,ofmimerou.,smallumbellets,ofbeantlful
irreenish yellow llowers.
B r S . minute, two or three under the insertion of the fascicles
of flowers, which compose tlie umbellets.
Col,, deeply five-cleft ¡ i '»»«. , rather more than half the length
of the tube of the corei, and downy on the outside.
Crol salver-shaped , divisions of the border oblk|nelyoval, with
apeses rounded, greenish tow.ird the centre, with the exterior
half yellow.
C e t a , of the fructification short-clavate, or obov.te, about a, long
37 ^ELIA UMBELLATA.
, cordate, .sohtary t the t of the
2 « . .\SCLEPIAS TENACISSIMA.
Perennial, twining. long, pctioled, exactly cordate, finepointed,
both sides soft with down. Pmid.s interfoliaceous
drooping, a^riidia obovate, hid in the tube of the eorol. Fdhda
ovate-oblong, obtuse, tomentose.
DE,SCRIPTION.
Sim perennial, twining ever the trees, fa. to a very great extent,
and in general about a. thick as a large ratan. Br„d.,. feiv ;
shoots downy. From wounds there exudes a milky
juice, which thickens into an elastic substance, very like
»»«cJeac, and rubs out black lead pencil lines as readily,
and I think may be reckoned an additional species thereof.
L,av„ opposite, (the pairs in luxuriant shoots fit for flax| very
remote, petioled, exactly-cordate, fine acute-pointed, entire,
very soft, with much fine down on both sides ; general
length from 4 to.6 inches, and from 3 to 4 broad.
FdwUs round, downy, from two to four inches long.
Pa„kl,s interfoliaceous, large, drooping, composed of alternate
as the tube of the enrol, with the wdiite apex of the
sngma naked.
MiVfa cvate-laneeolate, obtuse, nearly rcnnd, with a groove on
the inside t clothed with much soft velvet-like green down,
about six inches long, and from tour to five in cireumferenee
S „ I , ™ 7 n m " I - l»»"». "
naceous margin, and long soft silky pappus.
OBSERVATIONS.
This most elegant and very useful species, was first made known
to us by Mr William Roxburgh, who found it growing wild on
the above mentioned hills in 1100, and by him iuirodneed into
the Botanic Garden at Calcutta, where the plants thrrve luxuriantly,
blossom in April, and ripen their seed about ten months
thei-eafter.
The bark of the young luxuriant shoots yields a large portion cf
beautifully fine silky fibres, with which the mountaineers of Rajemahl
make their bow-strings, on account of its great strength and
durability. .
Dtirin. the rains they cut the shoots into lengths at the insertion
of the leaves, peel ofl- the bark, and with their nails, or a bit
of stick on a board, remove the pulpy part. A person aecustomed
to this work will, I am told, clean as far as six pounds of the fibres
" ' TheTe' fibres, and those of die bark of the Malay plant BHta„g
or are by far the strongest (I mean in the vegetable
kingdom) I have met with, far exceeding those of the
leaves of Sm,„mm xalmdca. A line made of common hemp, lor
a standard, broke with 1B8 pounds when dry, and with ISO
when svet, the average of several trials.
A similar line of this substance, broke with W when dry, and
!4J when wet, while one of Battang calloway broke with 240
when dry, and 27 8 when wet.
241. STAPELIA UMBELLATA.
Vmbd terminal. Cerei five-parted, smooth i segments Iriangular,
with margins revolute. Si» and branches erect, foursided,
with the angles dentate.
DESCRIPTION,
perennial, crcct, with erect i r«A„, f«ur-slded smooth
angles sharp, and dentate, height of the whole plant about
a foot.
LsMti (or scales) i
angles cf the young shoots.
Umbd terminal, many (from 40 to 100) flowered.
Pednttdei longer than the diameter of the expanded eorol, one-
Ilovered, round, smooth.
Calyx raiuute.
C«re/.subcampauulate ; W r r five-parted ; triangular, but
as the margins become revohite, they become more pointed ;
inside dark bistre, with five transverse waveil yellow ruga:;
outside dark purple; expands about one inch.
Follkk.^ erect, subulate, ti-8 inches long, and about as thick as n
' OB.SERVATIONS.
A native of die tiry, barren, bushy places, especially under the
shade of the Euphorbia Antirpiorum, over Mysore; and from
thence the plants were first procured by Lady Clive, who .sent
several to the Butanie Garden at Calcutta, where they blossom
about the close of the hot season, or beginning of the rains in May
andjune.
242. BURMANNIA DISTICHA.
Linn. 5p. jd- ed. Wdldcn. 2..p- 16.
Leaves sword-shaped. Spiii double.
Burmannia spica gemina. B7irm. zei/l. p. SO. i. 20. f . 1.
DKSCIIIPTION.
Root of numerous capill;iry fibres, annual.
Leaves nidical, .sword-shiiped.
Scnpe crect, from twelve to twenty inches, round, jointed ; with
a sworti-sUaped slicath at eachjoiiit.
Spike double, spreading in opposite directions.
Bracles lanceolate, one-flowered.
Flowers erect, subsessilc on the upper side of the spilce.s, pale blue.
Ca(y.v above, gibbous, one-leaved ; mouth six-parted, the alternate
larger, permanent, and keeled on ihe back.
Carol none, except the ihree smaller divisions of (he calyx be so
called.
FilamaiU none. Auihtrs three pair, adjoined to the sides of three
large, ox-head-shaped glands, aiTixed to the calyx, just below
the smaller divisions thereof
Pislil, Ocrm three-sided, three-winged, being a continuation of
those of the calyx, Slyle erect. Sli'^mM three, large, emarginato.
Copsule three-winged, three-cornered, three-celled, three-valved.
i f i j tinmeious. OBSERV.\TI0N.
A native of Ceylon.
243. BAMBUSA BACCIFERA.
Arboreous, unarmed. Peiicarp a very laigc pendulous, pyr.n
nidal, one-seeded berry.
RAMBUSA BACCIFIRA. 38
Payn-tiillu, of the people of the Chittagong mountains.
DESCRIPTION.
Leaves alternate, bifaricms, sub.sesslle cm their sheathing bases,
ovate-lanceolate, smooth on both sides, slighily ribbc<l underneath,
length from r, to i2 inches, and from two to four
broad.
Skailhs of the leaves villous, with their mouths bearded with
many, long, filiform f.bres.
Spikes compound ; they issue, many together, from the joints of
the branches, or from those of the upper part of the stem ;
long, slender, jointed, ramous ; each joint furnished with a
shcaih of nearly its length.
Sj>ikelelsihr<ic, four, or more ¡lowered; the inferior scales (calyx?]
thereof abortive, or with male flowers.
Corel of two. unequal, long, taper, acute-pointed, smooth, permanent
valves.
Slaniina six. about as long as the pistil.
Germ ovate. Shjle single. Stipuaj tliree. iiliforra, woolly.
Pericarp. In tliis singular species, it is a very large, hard, fleshy,
conical, smooth, taper curved-pointed fruit, with a single
large oval seed in each,
OBSERVATIONS.
This uncommonly curious berry-bearing bamboo, is a native
of the ID 0 u n ta i n s.
Growing plants, seeds, and well preserved specimens, were
sent me from thence by Mr. Pierard, a gentleman to whom the
Botanic Garden at Calcutta is under many obligations. This
Bamboo, he writes, is the one in common use in that country for
every purpose of building, S:c. Mis de.scription of the tree is so
full, and perfect, that I do not think I can do better than transcribe
what lie .says, in reply to my C|ueries regarding this plant.
" It bears no thorns, grows in dry places, chietty on the sides
" of hills, where the upper stratum of the soil is sandy. The
" circumference near the base 12 or IS inches. Height from 50
to 70 feet, beautifully erect, and without the least flexure, or
" inequality of surface, bare of branches, except near the extre-
" mity, Perishes after yielding its fruit.
It yields more or less Tabasheer of a saline crystallization ;
" sometimes i: is said the cavity between the joints is nearly
" filled with this substance, which the people call choonah (lime)."
EXPLANATION OE THE FIGURES.
Fig. I. A joint of the upper part of the stem of a
Beesha, Rheed. Mai. vol. 5.p. 119. I. CO.
at which ti me the plant is in genera! destitu te of leaves.
2. The end ofi 1 small twig in leaf.
3. A small bran xh, with one of the fruit hangir ig to it.
All these are of their natural si/e, kc.
4. Part of asp ike, with one of the spikclets. a , having the
last flower liicreof a fertile hermaphrodite one-
5. The last in eiiiioned hermaphi-odite flowei - still more
magnified, with tlie two valves of the eorol i 1 a removed
to s1iow th e stamina and pistil.
6. A perpendic ular section of one of the fruit [; ind rather a
small one). exposing the entire seed beginn ing to vegetate,
a. par I cf the scaly pedicel by which i twas united
to the bran ch. b the roots, c the plumul a. or young
ascending scaly shoot.