212
ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY.
Geographical Distribution. As indicated above this is strictly a tropical order and is
found within the tropics of Asia, Africa, and America, but not in New Holland. Some of the
Indian species however extend considerably beyond the 23° of northern latitude and are even
found as far north as the foot of the Himalayas, several are found in the Malayan peninsula and
in the Eastern Islands. In the Indian peninsula, though only 9 genera and 19 species are des-
cribed, the order may be said to abound as most of the species are of frequent occurrence.
Those of Terminalia and Conocarpus abound in the alpine tracts, while Comb' etum and
Getonia are equally abundant on the plains in those parts of the country where they do occur.
Combretum, of the two, is more generally diffused. Getonia is principally confined to the western
coast and about Courtallum, but not limited to these localities.
Properties and Uses. Most of the species of Terminalia are strongly astringpnt and the bark of several may be used for tanning. The leaf galls and fruit of T. chebula are much used by dyers as a mordant for fixing their colours, as well as for imparting, with alum, a durable yellow dye, and with a ferruginous earth an excellent black — Ainslie. The galls are used for making ink, the bark for tanning, they are also employed in medicine when astringents are required, and in short, on all occasion-- whether in the arts or medicine, where astringents are necessary the bark or fruit or galls of Terminalia or Myiobalanus may be used. Nearly all the species of Terminalia and Conocarpus are large timber trees and some of them yield very useful timbar, but I do not find any precise accounts of their respective qualities. Terminalia (Pen- taptera) coriacea or perhaps T. glabra " has a trunk straight and lofiy ; wood of considerable diameter, so as to be made into solid wheels for buffalo carts ; strong, hard and heavy" — Berry in Roxb. Fl. Ind. This tree is not mentioned by Ainslie. No useful property is assigned to any of the scandent forms but the wood of Lumnitzera racemosa (Petaloma alternifolia, Roxb.) is said to be remarkably strong and durable. The plant is however rare in this part of India and so far as I am aware does not attain a sufficient size to be of much value. Vast quantities of it are daily carried from the Sunderbunds to Calcutta for fuel.
Remarks on Genera and Species. This order is divided info two tribes Terminaliae and Cornbreteae. The former distinguished by its spirally convolute cotyledons and by the petals frequently wanting: in the latter the cotyledons are either thick plano-convex or irregularly and longitudinally plaited, sometimes they are thin and foliaceous or intricately folded. Of the former of these tribes most of the genera are essentially characterized by their flowers, in Ter- minalia the calyx is 5-cleft, the limb small, deciduous, petals none : in Getonia I lie limb of the calyx is large and persistent. From these Poivrea and Lumnitzera are distinguished by having petals; the former being separated from the latter by its deciduous, not persisrent, limb of the calyx ; and more readily by its habit, which is twining and a native of inland districts while the latter is erect, arboreous, and a native of salt marshes on the const along with ihe Rhizophovae. Conocarpus is readily distinguished from the rest of the order by its capitate apetalons flowers, compressed ovaries and flattened, almost winged, closely imbricating seed ; somewhat resem- bling a pine cone in miniature whence the name. The Indian species of this genus are all trees natives of alpine districts though rarely found on the highest hills. Poivrea is a twining shrub resembling Combretum, but separated by its quinary flowers and 10 stamens, not quaternary with 8 stamens, the fruit in both is winged. By far the most conspicuous member of the order on account of the profusion and magnificence of its flowers is the so called Rangoon creeper ( Quisqualis indica J now so deservedly a favourite in Madras gardens.
Some recent writers the principal of whom are Lamark and DeCandolle has proposed to divide Teiminalia into 4 genera, taking the characters from the fruit. Terminalia is by them restricted to those species with flattened drupes the margins of which are sometimes extended into wings or much attenuated. Those with rounded or obscurely furrowed often fleshy drupes have received from Lamark the name of Myiobalanus — a third set characterized by having 5-7, longitudinally, winged fruit, Roxburgh has called Pentaptera : while a fourth with 3-5 angled fruit the angles extending into unequal sized wings have received of the name Chuncoa (Gimbernantia, Ru. & Pav.) both of which genera are adopted by DeCandolle, but he unites Myrobalanus and Terminalia . The Peninsular flora presents species appertaining to each of these forms.
