Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Hypercineæ
N. O. HYPERICINEÆ
125. Hypericum patulum, Thunb., h.f.b.i, i. 254.
Vern. : — Tumbhul (Behari).
Habitat: — Throughout the Temperate Himalaya (Sikkim excepted), from Bhotan to Simla and Chamba; also in the Khasia Mountains and Yunnan.
A shrub. Leaves distichous, 1-1½ in. long, narrowed rhomboid or elliptical, very shortly petioled, black-dotted and rusty beneath; margins reflexed. Flowers 1 in. diam. Sepals 1/5 in. Petals yellow, orbicular or elliptical, longer than the stamens. Styles equalling the ovary, but exceeding the stamens. Capsules obtusely conical, 1/5-⅓ in. long.
Dr. Hooker writes in the Botanical Magazine, for February 1st, 1868:-
"It is a native of Japan, where it was discovered by Thunberg ninety years ago, * * As a species, it is very nearly allied to the H. uralum, Hamilton, of Nepal, and will probably prove to be a large- flowered variety of that plant. It is very variable in the foliage, which is flat or has recurved margins, and is green or rust-coloured beneath."
Part used :— The seed.
Use : — The scented seeds are employed as an aromatic stimulant in Patna, where they are imported from Nepal (Irvine).
126. H. perforatum., Linn., h.f.b.i., i. 255.
Vern. : — Balsant, dendlu (H. & Pb.)
Habitat : — Temperate Western Himalaya, from Kumaon to Kashmir.
A perennial herb. Stems erect, 2-edged, 18 in., with slender stolons branched above Leaves oblong or ovate, pellucid-punctate, ¾ in., obtuse, with radiating veins, paler beneath, with black dots. Cymes corymbose, 3-chotomously branched; flowers 1 in., sepals 1/6 in., 5, linear, acute connate; 3-delphous at the base; margins of the sepals eglandular. Petals persistent with black glandular edges. Ovary 3-celled; styles twice the length of the ovary, equalling the stamens. Capsule ⅛ in., egg-shaped.
Parts used :— The leaves and the whole plant.
Use :-— It is recommended in Arabian medicine as a vermifuge, also used to cure piles, prolapsus uteri et ani (Honning-berger, Vol. TL, p. 289,. The herb is bitter and astringent, and was recommended by Arabic writers as a detersive, resolutive, anthelmintic, diuretic and emmenagogue and, externally, as excitant, but it does not appear to be used in modern medicine (Watt).
The plant is certainly astringent and aromatic; taken internally, it occasionally acts as a purgative, but not powerfully. In country districts, it is sometimes used still as a medicine, and oil, in which the shoots or flowering tops have been steeped, is sold by herbalists as " oleum hyperial." The leaves have been used as a vermifuge (Sowerby's English Botany).
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