43 GMELINA AUBORKA.
¡11 circumference, four and a half feet above ground, and were
higli, vaiiious, and lic.ihiiy in proportion. These were originally
sent, ai. the .lesire oi' the late Marqnis Cornwallis, from the Rajah-
¡inidry Circar, wiiere ihe Teak is reckoned superior to every other
sort in India. It is from the seed of these trees the plants have
been retired, which are now generally planted over Bengal.
Since writing the above. Mr. VVaddell, the East India Companv's
master builder in Bengal, has returned from thence to
En^liind ; and informs me, that in consequence of my having
found a log of this timber resist ti.e worni {Teredo navalis) so effeclULilly,
he fixed specimens of several sorts of timber considerably
below low water mark, in the same river my experiment was made
in. so that they were coiistaaily under water. At the end of one
vein- he took them up, nnd found the worm had nttackod this sort,
ihough in a less degree than some of the others. I have no doubt
of Mr. WiuldcH's accuracy ; and can only s,.y that my own experiment
and the res.dt were exactly as I have stated. Whether
Mr- W. made his experiment on wood equally old ; or if it was
IMBAX IlEPTAPIIYLLUM. 44
of sweet liquid, which birds are fond of.
Brade}
cadnc
Carol of five, very distinct, oblong, first spreading, then recurved,
contorted, smooth, deep red, fleshy, obtong petals, of about
twice the length of the stamens.
.Sinmens. FUaments in two series. The inner press on the style,
and consist of five longer, and thicker; and ten .shorter. Exterior
series contain from 50 to 60, united into five distinct
bodies ; all these are united at tlie base into one fleshy envelope
round the germ. Anlhers incumbent, involute, reniform
; of ihe five larger filaments of the interior series
double ; on all the rest single. Pollen the colour of Scotch
snuff.
Estil. Germ conical. longer than the stamina. ^/t^Tiiii, fivecleft;
divisions subulate, recurved.
Capsule oblong, tapering equally towards each end, five-celled,
five-valvecl. downy on the outside.
Seeds numerous, obovate, smooth, except for a .sharp cross-shaped
ridge on one side; immersed in a very large quantity of very
fine, silky wool ; this wool does not adhere to the seeds, but
rather seems to grow from the inside of the valves of the
capsule-
OBSERVATIONS.
247. BOMBAX HEPTAPHYLLUM.
Limt. sp.jd. ed. Willdcn. S. ]>. 732.
'Truni and branches mucli armed. Leaves digitate. Stamens
numerous, in two series, exterior series of five fascicles. Stis>na
five-cleft.
Moul elavoii. Rlued.mal. 3./;. 81, t. 52.
Salmali, the Sanscrit name.
Semel, or Semul, of the Bengalese, and Hindoos.
Boorgha, of the Telingas.
DESCRIPTION.
rnmk straight, covered with innumerable, crowded, shore, sharp
conic jmckles. as at a, of which b is a vertical section: the
Bark is also very scabrous, and deeply cracked, is outwardly
ash-coloured, inwardly red. Branches subverticelied, variously
bent, but generally in a horizontal direction, and
armed like the trunk,
Leaves alternate, long-petioled, digitate.
Leajleh five, six, or seven, petioleted, broad-lanceolate, long,
fine-pointed, entire, smooth on both sides, general length
from C to 12 inches.
Petioles longer than the leaflets, round, smooth,
Petwlels short, channeled on the upper side.
sap,lies small, caducous.
Flowers numerous, collected in fascicles at and near the extremeties
of the then otherwise naked branchlets, subsessile, very
large, bright lively red colour ; they contain a large porti.
aim
of the largest of our Indian
;here. Over the norihernCm r the n
they gro a greater than I hav
else, often about an hundred feet high, thick in the trunk, and
ramous in proportion. Flowering time the end of winter, when
the tree is totally destitue of leaves. The great numbers of very
large bright red flowers, with which it is then covered, makes it
remarkably conspicuous at a very great distance.
The wood is white, light, and spongy, fit for very few purposes,
In India the wool of the seeds is used to stuff beds and
pillows with, and to put between the folds of quilted cloth.
Cali/x cup-shaped, circumcised, of a thick leathery texture, inside
covered with white, silky down; outside pretty smooth.
Border in general obscurely three or four-parted ; as the
enrol expands, these are often so much split, as to appear
tour, five, or more cleft; separating near the permanent
base, which with the corol and stamina drop off in one body.
FLEMINGIA.'
DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Cniy* five-cleft. Amnsr striated. .Sia^W one and nine. Legume
sessile, oval, turgid, two-valvcd, one-celled, containing two
spherical seeds,
248. FLEMINGIA STRICTA.
Stems nearly simple, and straight. Leajlets broad-lanceolate,
smooth. .Racme.!axillary, solitary, length of the petioles.
Guldda of the Telingas.
DESCRIPTION.
Stem several from the same root, straight, with few straight
somewhat three-sided smooth branches.
• .So ntinicJ in honour of Dr. Jolin Klcmiog, Prcsicloiil of lliu lloiiournWc Kiisl Itidia
Comimny'. medicd Mt^ibli.l.m^ulii. lioi.gal ; wbos. knowk.lgc of tbri »cici.cc cfBoUi.y
ju»lly dtmaiiü» tliis Iriljute.
4!, JLEMINCIA STRICTA.
Leaves alternate, petioled, lernate. Leafleis broad-Janceoiate,
entire, acute, smooth ; about nine inches long, and three
broad. Petioles five or six inches long, three-sided.
Stipules sheathing, very large, scariose, caducous.
Racemes axillary, solitary, erect, about as long as the petioles,
supported on a short pcdnncle, which is hid in a large, scariose,
spathifbrm bracte.
Flowers numerous, alternate, short-pedicelled, beautifully striped
with pink, yellow, and violet.
Bractes solitary, one-flowered, linear-lanceolate, caducous long
before the flowers expand.
Calj/x unequally five-cleft, the lower division being considerably
larger than the other four.
Filaments one, and nine conjoined.
Legiime oblong, acute, sessile, turgid, smooth.
Seeds uniformly two, perfectly round, smooth, speckled brown
and white, scarcely so large as a grain of black pepper,
OBSERVATIONS.
A native of the hills over the northern parts of the coast of
Coromandel, where it blossoms during the cool season.
249. FLEMINGIA SEMIALATA.
DESCRIPTION.
Shrubby. ramous, suberect. LeaßHs elliptic, smooth ; petioles
winged : racemes terminal, and axillary, panicled.
Leaves ternate: leaßels nearly equal, broad-lanceolate, threenerved,
entire, fine-pointed, smooth on both sides, length
from 4 to 6 inches, and from one and a half, to two broad.
Petioles shorter than the leaves, with broad, membranaceous,
villous margin,
Racanes axillary, and terminal, generally compound, particularly
the terminal, and they are often panicled.
Bracks chaffy, Linceohite, one-flowered, caducous.
Flowers numerous, large, rose-colour, striated with greenish
yellow and purple.
Calyx villous ; segments 5, nearly equal, ensiform, about as long
as the corol.
Filaments-. I, and 9 ; the single one greatly enlarged near the base.
Legume sessile, oval, slightly villous, turgid, si^e of a field bean.
SeeiU two, small, perfectly round, smooth, shining black.
OBSERVATIONS,
of Xepaul, from whcnce Dr. Buchai seeds
the Botanic Garden at Calcutta ; where, in little more than one
yea
plants were tall, elegant, ramous. stout, erect shrubs ;
th the bar/c of the ligneous parts dark brown, and smooth : of
the tender parts villous.
Male and Female floi-t
ceous receptad
ARTOCARPUS.
Gen. fil. ed. Schrei/, n. 1393.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
[the outer surface of) different
ARTOCARHL'S INTECmFOLlA.
Male. AnW/i two or three-leaved. Corol none.
Female. Perianth one-valved. Corol none. StijU one,
Fi-uit compound.
250. ARTOCARPUS INTEGRIFOIJA.
Leaves entire: Flotuers cauline.
A, intcgrifolia. Linn. spcc. plant, edit. mild. A . p. 18!)-
Sitodiumcauliflorum, G^rl. scm. ¡.p. t. 1] and 12.
Polyphema laca, Loureiro cochin, p. 546.
Tsajaca-marum. Rheed. vial. 3 tab. 26, 27 and 28.
Soccus arboreus. Rumph. avib. 1, tab. 30 and S1.
Panasa, the Sanscrit and Telinga name.
Kauthol, of the Bengalese.
DESCRIPTION,
rrnnk short in proportion to the size of the tree, and wJ.en full
grown, from 8 to 12 feet in circumference, covered with
dark-coloured, deeply-cracked bark. Branches numerous,
spreading far in every direction.
Leaves alternate, short-petioled, oval, or oblong; in young luxuriant
plants often deeply divided ; upper .surface a smooth
deep-shining green: general length about six inches, and
about three broad,
Slipnles in pairs, broad-knceolate, embracing, like a spathe, the
next inner leaf, and ameut when present, caducous-
Male amenls axillary, solitary, pedunclcd, sub-cylindric, about the
size of a man's thumb; they are found only on short branchlets
which issue from the trunk, or largest branches, and are
every where closely covered with small sessile florets.
spathe no other than the stipules above mentioned.
Perianthproper or Ccroitwo-valvcd. Faii-itto wedge-shaped, equal,
a little hairy, united, with the base of the filament, into
one body.
Filament single, clavate. rather longer than the calyx. Anthers two,
on the rounded margin of the apex of llie filament, twolobed.
Femah aments on the same branchlet with the male, but lower
down, and generally but one on the same branchlet. though
there are many male ; and when they first burst from the
spathiform stipules, they arc nearly of (he same size, and
equally well furnished with florets.
Perianth proper or Corol, of one sub-cylindric, fleshy tube, perforated
ac the apex, or it may probably be better termed
the exterior coat of the germ, for it becomes the edible part
of the fruit-
Cm/« numerous, ovate, lodged in the base of what I have just
called the proper perianth- Style longer than the perianth.
Stigma single, clavate, recurvate, grooved on the convex
side.
Fnit compound, oblong, muricate. from 12 to 30 inches long,
and from 6 to 12 in diameter ; and weighing from ten to
sixty pounds.
Seeds reniform, about the sir.e of a nutmeg, very smooth, each
lodged in a thin, smooth, somewhat coriaceous membrane ;
which is again covered by the edible, thick, fleshy coat ;
(formerly my proper perianth.)