A History of Agriculture in India v1.c33.s8.9

v1.c33.s8.9

The fourth tree, with leaves like those of *asoka* and comparatively small axillary flowers, which we find in the sculpture behind the woman treading over the dwarf, resembles *Mesua ferrea*, the well-known Nagsura of Bengal and Assam. Its linear-lanceolate, acuminate, drooping opposite leaves, with short peduncles and axillary solitary flowers, resemble those of *Mesua ferrea*, rather than of any other Indian tree. *Mesua ferrea*, with its strikingly beautiful leaves and highly fragrant flowers, must have been as popular in ancient India as it is now in Bengal and Assam.