The Flowers are in large terminal panicles, sometimes nearly a foot wide. The flowers are in composite heads about ½ inch long, with some 20 flowers in an involucre of pale green scales, the corolla and bifid style white. The flowers are found mostly in the rains.
The Fruit is a seed, or achene, with the usual pappus or ring of bristles by which it is distributed on the wind. The “thistle-down” heads are about ½ inch in diameter.
Uses.—The root is used as a chew-stick for cleaning the teeth and as tonic bitters. The leaves are used medicinally.
VITEX CIENKOWSKII Kotschy & Peyr.—Dinya, Dunya. VERBENACEAE.
A large tree which occurs more or less evenly distributed throughout the forests. It is rather exacting as a rule as to soil conditions and will not flourish in poor situations, preferring deep soils. It grows to a height of 30-40 feet with girths of 6 or 7 feet, and specimens 10 feet in girth are by no means uncommon. It can be distinguished at a distance by its very large, dense, dark green and regular crown with rounded top. The crown, in the case of trees grown in the open, comes to within 6-10 feet of the ground. Examples growing in the forest exhibit a distinct form, with longer boles and higher, more cylindrical crowns, and the branches ascend at an acute angle to the stem. It is a prolific fruiting species, but more often than not the fruits are burnt on the ground by the grass fires which occur from December on, the months when the fruits fall. It grows very well from the seeds which retain their germinating qualities for some time.
The Bark, which is a very distinctive feature, is light brown or grey, appearing smooth at a distance, and is fibrous in appearance with very narrow and long, vertical fissures and stringy ridges. It is often much darker on the limbs than on the stem. The slash is yellow, darkening on exposure.
The Wood is light brown, rather like Teak. In transverse section the rings are indistinct darker lines, the pores are large, open, mostly single, with a few double pores. The rays are plainly visible, broad, waved, unevenly spaced, with sometimes room for two pores between. The soft tissue round the pores is very poorly developed. In vertical section the pores are distinctive for their curves and the rays are plainly visible as brown flecks in tangential and iridescent bands in radial section. Some of the pore contents glisten. The wood is soft, coarse but nicely grained, very easy to saw and plane, with a soft finish and no polish. The weight is 53 lbs. a cubic foot.
The Leaves are digitate with usually 5, sometimes 6, lobes. They are about 8 inches across, but vary considerably in size and have a 4 inch stalk. A round, pointed leaf-gall is common on the leaves, which are dark green with a bloom on the upper surface and paler with raised venation on the under surface. The young leaves are a deep red-purple.