Vanaspati: Plants and Plant-Life as in Indian Treatises and Traditions c5.s4.2

c5.s4.2

The Ancients broadly differentiated the stem into two parts—an outer called the *tvach*, *valkala* (rind, skin); and an inner the wood or essence—the *sāra* (सार), *i.e.*, that which lasts till the end of time (कालान्तरमिति) enclosing the *majjā* (the pith). The outer part included the modern bast and the inner part the wood with pith as usual. Thus the stem is internally differentiated into—