her. The _jand_ is a useful little tree,
and wherever it grows the natural qualities of the soil are good. The
sweetish fruit of the _jal_, known as _pilu_, is liked by the people,
and in famines they will even eat the berries of the leafless caper.
Other characteristic plants of the Panjab plains are under Leguminosae,
the _khip_ (Crotalaria burhia), two Farsetias (_farid ki buti_), and the
_jawasa_ or camel thorn (Alhagi camelorum), practically leafless, but
with very long and stout spines; under Capparidaceae several Cleomes,
species of Corchorus (Tiliaceae), under Zygophyllaceae three
Mediterranean genera, Tribulus, Zygophyllum, and Fagonia, under
Solanaceae several Solanums and Withanias, and various salsolaceous
Chenopods known as _lana_.

[Illustration: Fig. 19. Banian or Bor trees.]

In the sandier tracts the _ak_ (Calotropis procera, N.O.
Asclepiadaceae), the _harmal_ (Peganum harmala, N.O. Rutaceae), and the
colocynth gourd (Citrullus colocynthis, N.O. Cucurbitaceae), which,
owing to the size of its roots, manages to flourish in the sands of
African and Indian deserts, grow abundantly. Common weeds of cultivation
are Fumaria parviflora, a near relation of the English fumitory, Silene
conoidea, and two Spergulas (Caryophyllaceae), and Sisymbrium Irio
(Cruciferae). A curious little Orchid, Zeuxine sulcata, is found growing
among the grass on canal banks. The American yellow poppy, Argemone
Mexicana, a noxious weed, has unfortunately established itself widely in
the Panjab plain. Two trees of the order Leguminosae, the _shisham_ or
_tali_ (Dalbergia Sissoo) and the _siris_ (Albizzia lebbek), are
commonly planted on Panjab roads. The true home of the former is in
river beds in the low hills or in ravines below the hills. But it is a
favourite tree on roads and near wells throughout the province, and
deservedly so, for it yields excellent timber. The _siris_ on the other
hand is an untidy useless tree. The _kikar_ might be planted as a
roadside tree to a greater extent. Several species of figs, especially
the _pipal_ (Ficus religiosa) and _bor_ or banian (Ficus Indica) are
popular trees.

~Salt Range and North-West Plains.~---Our second region may be taken as
extending from the Pabbi hills on the east of the Jhelam in Gujrat to
our administrative boundary beyond the Indus, its southern limit being
the Salt Range. Here the flora is of a distinctly Mediterranean type.
Poppies are as familiar in Rawalpindi as they