A middle- sized evergreen tree, with a heavy crown. " Bark thin, grey. Wood reddish, close and even-grained, hard ; pores small and moderate-sized. Medullary rays moderately broad, uniform and equidistant, distantly visible on radial section. Pores joined by reddish, soft, wavy, concentric lines. The concentric bands in this species are remarkable " (Gamble). Youngest shoots pubescent. Leaves l-3ft. . Leaflets 9-15, 3-9in. by l1-4in., more or less elliptic or ovate, acuminate, opposite, base usually obtuse, shortly petiolulate ; secondary nerves
prominent beneath. Flowers white, bracteate, subsessile. Trimen says, yellow. Panicles spicate, male branched, female simple, solitary much shorter than the leaves ; or branched (W. P. Hiern). Male flowers1 , female ¼in. long. Calyx 5-partite ; petals 3, anthers 6, attached to the tube at its base, Staminal-tube 6-toothed. Ovary sessile, short ; style short, stigma trigonous, angles opposite the Calyx-lobes. Fruit globose, yellow or reddish when ripe, 1-1½in. diam., smooth, 3-celled, 3-valved, pericarp coriaceous. Seed one, oblong, with a scarlet
arillus. The seeds supply an economic oil.
Trimen — Sinhalese name, Hingul ; found in Ceylon in most regions up to about 3000ft.
Parts used : — The bark and seed.
Use : — The bark of this plant is used as an astringent (Watt). The ripe seeds yield an oil which is used as a stimulating liniment in rheumatism (D. Basu)— Watt's Dictionary.
The seeds spherical, brownish black with a pale brown hilum, and consisted of a thin brittle husk which adhered to the kernel. Weight of 1 seed about 0-7 grm.
Two samples of seed contained 42.5 and 43.5 per cent, of oil respectively.
{{smaller|The oil is viscous, clear, and yellow brown ; it has an unpleasant smell and bitter taste. Sp. gr. at 15° C. 0.929—0.931 ; Saponification value, 193.0— 192.3 ; Iodine value, 131.7-102.5 ; Hehner value, 92.4 ; unsaponifiable matter, 1.2 per cent ; Rechert-Meissl value 1.2 ; Solidif pt, of fatty acids (titer test), 32-40 C
The Oil is suitable for Soap-Making. The residual cake could be used only as Manure on account of its bitter taste.
(Bull. Imp, Inst. 1913).
