Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Oleaceæ
N. O. OLEACEÆ.
732. Jasminum Sambac, Ait., h.f.b.l, iii. 591.
Syn.:—J. Zambac, Roxb.—30.
Sans.—Varshiki.
Vern.:—Chamba, mugra, bela (Hind.); Mallickaphul, bel (Beng.); Mallippu (Tam.); Mogri, bhtt mogri (Bom.); Mullige (Kan). Sapai, mali (Burm.
Habitat:—Much cultivated throughout India.
A scandent shrub. Branchlets pubescent. Leaves simple, opposite, or sometimes ternate, thinly membranous, varying from l-5 in., acute or obtuse, short petioled, ovate, nearly glabrous, base cuneate or rounded, nerves beneath pubescent or glabrous, primary nerve often tufted in the axils beneath; secondary nerves distinct; petioles 1/5 in. Cymes lax, terminal, sometimes solitary, about 3-flowered, pubescent, many flowered in cultivation. Bracts 0-¼, linear. Flowers white, very fragrant. Calyx-teeth subulate, ¼ in.", pubescent, in cultivation often nearly glabrous. Corolla-tube ½ in., lobes as long as the tube, oblong, acute or obtuse, or in cultivation orbicular. Ripe carpels nearly globose, 1 or 2, |in. diam., black, surrounded by the suberect subulate Calyx-teeth.
Uses:—"Considered by natives cool and sweet: used as a remedy in cases of insanity, in weakness of sight, and affections of mouth " (Baden-Powell).
In Goa, the root of the wild variety is used as an emmenagogue (Dymock).
The flowers, according to the report of Mr. J. Wood, possess considerable power as a lactifuge; he speaks of them as effectual in arresting the secretion of milk in the puerperal state, in cases of threatened abscess. For this purpose, about two or three handfuls of the flowers are bruised, and unmoistened are applied to each breast, and renewed once or twice a day. The secretion is sometimes arrested in twenty-four hours, though this generally requires two or even three days. Mr. Wood speaks of this fact as being well-known at Madras (Ph. hid.). The dried leaves, soaked in water and made into a poultice, are used in indolent ulcers (Watt).
The properties of this plant are said, according to Sanskrit writers, to resemble those of J, grandiflorum (Dutt).
733. J. pubescens, Willd., h.f.b.i., iii. 592 ; Roxb. 31.
Sans. : — Kunda.
Vern :— Mográ (M.) ; Koonda(B.) ; Kundphul, Kunda, Chameli (H.) ; Katu-tsjiregam-mulla (Malay), Vikhm Mogrâ (Bomb.).
Habitat :— Common, from the Himalaya throughout India.
A scandent short shrub. The stem spirally twisted, 1/13in. wedges, which turn round each other rope-fashion. Bark light-brown, extremely thin. Wood white, moderately hard (Gamble). Branchlets, pedicels and Calyx densely fulvous-villous. Leaves, simple, ovate acute, often mucronate, opposite, softly tomentose on both surfaces, often at length glabrate above, beased round or often cordate ; main nerves 4-6 pairs. Petiole ¼-⅜ in. long, densely villous. Flowers white, fragrant, sessile, in dense, terminal capitate cymes, often at the extremeties of short axillary branches ; bracts large, ovate, acute, foliaceous, green. Calyx ½-5/6in. long, densely fulvous-villous, teeth, linear, ⅓-½in. long, subulate, fulvous-hairy. Corolla glabrous ; tube ¾-⅞in. long ; lobes 6 — 9, elliptic-oblong, acute, often mucronate, ½in. long. Carpels 1-2, globose, ¼in. diam., black, surrounded by the suberect Calyx- teeth.
Uses : — Dried leaves, soaked in water and made into a poultice, used in indolent ulcers to generate a healthy action. Root said to be an efficient antidote in snake-bite (Lindley and S. Arjun).
734. J. arboreseens, Roxb., h.f.b.i., iii. 594 ; Roxb. 32.
Sans. : — Mâdhavi ; Nava-mallika ; Saptala.
Vern. : — Kûsar rânjai, kund (Bomb.) ; Bara-kunda (B.) ; Adivi-mulli (Tel.) ; Chameli ; bara Kunda (H.) Habitat: — Tropical North- West Himalaya ; Terai of Oudh and Kumaun, Dee-can Peninsula, from Rajmahal southwards; also in the hot lower hills.
A large shrub, or scrubby tree, erect or climbing, says Brand is ; usually suberect, says Kanjilal. Branches smooth, grey ; branchlets pubescent. Leaves opposite, simple, entire, 4 by 2½in., shortly acuminate, widest near the base, subcordate, or the upper ovate or elliptic, young, hairy and often tomentose on both surfaces, nerves distinct beneath, lower divaricate. Petiole ½-¾in. Flowers white, fragrant, in lax terminal trichotomous compound cymes, usually 10-20 flowers, not dense ; bracts 1/5in. linear ; pedicels ¼in. ; Calyx-lobes 5-6, as long as or shortly longer than the tube ; Corolla-lobes ¾in., lanceolate acute, 10 or 12, as long as the tube. Berries one or two, ovoid, often oblique, ⅓-½in. long by ¼-⅓in. broad, unsymmetric ellipsoid, generally of one carpel, black when ripe.
Use : — The juice of the leaves is used, with pepper, garlic and other stimulants as an emetic, in obstruction of the bronchial tubes by viscid phlegm. Seven leaves will furnish a sufficient juice for a dose. For young children, the juice of half-a-leaf and of four leaves of Agasta (sesbania grandiflora) may be mixed with two grains of black pepper and 2 grains of dried borax and given in honey (Dymock).
The leaves are slightly bitter and astringent, and might be used as a tonic and stomachic. (S. Arjun).
The Santals give a preparation of the plant in certain menstrual complaints (Revd. A. Campbell).
735. J. angustifolium, Vahl, h.f.b.i., iii. 598, Roxb. 32.
Sans. : — Kânana mallikâ ; asphota ; vana malli.
Vern. : — Mwari ; ban-mallikâ (H.) ; chattu mallikâ ; caatmallicâ (Tam.) ; Chiri-malle ; adevie-mallie(Tel.); Katu-pitsjegam (Mal).
Habitat: — Dekkan Peninsula. Ceylon, in the lower Hills frequent ; common, especially in the dry regions. A scandent shrub, stems glabrous ; twigs minutely pubescent or almost villous. Leaves very variable on the same plant, simple, numerous, small, usually ½-2in., but at times attaining 3½in. Ovate-oval or oval-lanceolate, rounded at base, sometimes alternate, acute or obtuse at apex, glabrous. Flowers variable in size, white, on long slender peduncles, solitary or more usually in threes, at ends of short lateral divaricate twigs ; Calyx glabrous ; segments distant, short, ⅛-1/6in., filiform, acute ; Corolla-tube about ⅞in. ; lobes 7 or 8, equalling the tube, linear oblong, very acute, ripe carpel, about ⅓in. by ¼in. broadly-ovoid, unsymmetrical, both usually developed.
Use : — The bitter root, ground small and mixed with powdered vassumboo (root of Acorus Calaums) and lime-juice, is considered a valuable external application in cases of ringworm (Ainslie).
736. J. humile, Linn., h.f.b.l, iii. 602.
Syn. : — J. chrysanthemum, Roxb. 33; J. revolutum, Sims.
Sans. : — Hemapushpikâ.
Vern. : — Chamba, juari, tsonu, tsuman, summan, kuja (Pb.) ; Sonajahi (Kumaun) ; Swarna-jui (B.) ; Malto, Pitmâlti (H.) ; Pachcha adavi molla (Tel.).
Habitat: — Hills of India; Himalaya, from Kashmir to Bhutan ; Abu. Hills of South India, common in the Nilgiris. Hills of Ceylon.
A small, erect, rigid, wholly glabrous shrub. Bark thin, grey. Wood white, moderately hard-grained. Branches angular, green, glabrous. A handsome shrub, with fragrant yellow flowers. Leaves alternate imparipinnate, rachis 1-1½in. ; leaflets 5 (2 pair and an end one) (Trimen and Kanjilal), 2-3 by 7/10-1 1/5in., variable in size, lanceolate-oval, oblong or ovate, very variable, glabrous. Flowers dimorphic, ½-¾ in. long, 1-3 together, terminal or leaf-opposed, in short terminal, compound, corymbose cymes. Pedicels ¾in., drooping, thickened below flower. Calyx glabrous, segments short, triangular, acute. Corolla about lin., tube funnel-shaped, lobes 5, short, recurved, rotundate. Fruit didymous. Ripe berries globose or ellipsoid, pulpy, ⅞in. Uses :— The root is useful in ringworm (Honnigberger). The milky juice, which exudes on an incision in the bark of this plant, is alleged to have the power of destroying the unhealthy lining walls of chronic sinuses and fistulas (Surg- Major B. Gupta, in Watt's Dictionary).
737. J. officinale, Linn., h.f.b.l, III. 603.
Vern. : — Chamba, Chirichog, Kiri (Kashmir) ; Bansu, Kwer, Dumni (Chenab) ; Dassi, Sanosem (Ravi) ; Suni, Somun (Sutlej) ; Chambeli (Kumaun).
Habitat : — The Salt Range and Himalaya, from the Indus to the Sarda.
A large, twining shrub. Youngest shoots slightly pubescent. Branches long, weak, dark-green, slightly ribbed. Leaves opposite imparipinnate ; rachis channelled. Leaflets 2-3 pair, the terminal largest, lanceolate or rhomboid oblong, acute 2-3in. long ; the upper pair generally confluent with the terminal leaflet. Petiole marginate. Flowers white, with faint pink-streaks outside, delightfully fragrant, in lax terminal cymes, rarely solitary and axillary. Pedicels slender, ⅓-1in. long. Calyx-teeth linear, half, ⅔ the length of the Corolla-tube. Corol- la-tube about lin. Lobes usually 5, acute, about ½in. long, elliptic. Berries of 2 carpels ellipsoid, ⅓in. long.
Use : — The root has been found useful in ringworm (Honnigberger).
738. J. grandiflorum, Linn, h.f.b.l, iii. 603 ; Roxb. 34.
Sans. : — Játi.
Vern. :— Chambeli (H. and Bomb.) ; Játi (B.) ; Jaji (Tel.) ; Ghambeli (Guz.) ; Jáhi (U. P.).
Habitat : — Sub-Himalayan tract, from the Chenab westward, Oudb, Central India, Jumna to Godavery, Saharanpur, Siwalik, Dun.
A large, glabrous shrub, erect while young, say Kanjilal and Brandis, usually climbing or scrambling when older. Branches ribbed. Leaves opposite 3-4in., imparipinnate. Leaflets 3-7, says Kanjilal, sessile, the upper pairs generally confluent with the terminal leaflet. Petiole marginate ; " the leaflets," says Collett, " are 7-11, ovate, end one ½-1in., often partially united with the uppermost pair." Flowers white, numerous, crowded, delightfully fragrant, with faint pinkish streaks outside (Kanjilal), often tinged with purple outside (Collett and Brandis) ; in lax terminal cymes, rarely solitary or axillary ; pedicels ⅓-1in. long. "Calyx-teeth linear, less than half the length of the Corolla-tube ; Corolla ¼in. ; lobes ½in. long," (Collett). " Calyx- tube linear, half to two-thirds the length of the Corolla-tube about ½in., lobes usually 5, about ½in. long, elliptic" (Kanjilal.) "Calyx- teeth twice the length of tube. Corolla tube ¾in long (Brandis). C. B. Clarke says : — " Calyx-teeth about ¼in., rarely half as long as the Corolla-tube." Berries ellipsoid, ⅓in. long.
Uses : — Hindoo physicians prescribe the leaves as a remedy in skin diseases, ulcers of the mouth, otorrhœa, &c.
Mahomed an writers consider the plant to have deobstruent, anthelmintic, diuretic and emmenagogue properties. The author of the Makhzan mentions the use of the flowers applied in the form of plaster to the loins and pubes as an aphrodisiac (Dymock).
The scented oil is considered cooling.
The fresh juice of the leaves is applied to soft corns between the toes. In ulcerations or eruptions, in the mucous membrane of the mouth, the leaves are recommended to be chewed. An oil prepared with the juice of the leaves is poured into the ear in otorrhœa (Dutt).
In the United Provinces, the flowers and their essence are used as an application in skin diseases, headache, and weak eyes ; the leaves are used in toothache (Atkinson).
739. Nyctanthes arbor tristis, Linn, h.f.b.l, iii. 603 ; Roxb. 29.
Sans. : — Sephâlikâ ; Párijátak ; Rájanikasa.
Vern. : — Harsingar ; Saherwa ; Seoli ; Nibari (H.) ; Singhar ; Harsingar ; Sephalika, Shiuli (B.) ; Pakara ; Laduri ; Kuri (Pb.) ; Pártak (Bomb.) ; Pagala-mully (Tam.) ; Munjapumerum (Mai.). Habitat : — Cultivated throughout India.
A small, deciduous tree, 30ft., often forming coppice, scabrid pilose. Bark ¼in. thick, light brown, rough. Wood pale- red, of pale yellowish brown, moderately hard, close-grained. A well-known tree, with fragrant flowers, which open at night and drop off in the early morning. Kanjilal says the bark is grey or greenish-white, rough. Branches quadrangular. Leaves opposite, 4¼ by 2½in. or 3in., ovate, acute, coriaceous, covered over with stiff white hairs on the upper surface ; pubescent beneath, margin slightly recurved, entire or with distinct teeth, principal nerves conspicuous beneath. Base rounded or cuneate, petiole ⅓in., not articulated. Flowers sessile, 3-7 together in pedunculate heads, which are arranged in short trichotomous cymes ; bracts elliptical. Calyx-tube 1/5in., campanulate, minutely 4-5-toothed. Corolla-tube ¼-⅓in. long, cylindric, orange-red. Limb white, spreading. Lobes 5-8, 1/5-⅓in. long, emarginate, contorted in bud. Anthers 2, subsessile, inserted near the mouth of the Corolla-tube. Ovary 2-celled ; ovule 1 in each cell, erect. Capsule ⅓-½in. long or ¾in., ⅛-1/6in. thick, orbicular, chastaceous, splitting into 2 one-seeded cells. Seeds exalbuminous, radical, inferior, colyledons flat. Flowers throughout the year, in the Konkan during the rains.
Use : — The leaves, according to Sanskrit writers, are useful in fever and rheumatism. The fresh juice of the leaves is given with honey in chronic fever. A decoction of the leaves, prepared over a gentle fire, is recommended by several writers as a specific for obstinate sciatica (Dutt). According to the author of the Makhzan, six or seven of the young leaves are rubbed up with water and a little fresh ginger, and administered in obstinate fevers of the intermittent type, at the same time a purely vegetable diet is enforced. The powdered seeds are used to cure scurfy affections of the scalp (Dymock).
In the Concan, about 5 grains of the bark are eaten with betelnut and leaf, to promote the expectoration of thick phlegm (Dymock).
It is antibilious and expectorant, and useful in bilious fevers. (K. L. Dey). The expressed juice of the leaves acts as a cholagogue, laxative and mild bitter tonic (Dr. Thornton, in Watt's Dictionary).
The expressed juice of the leaves is given with a little sugar to children as a remedy for intestinal (thread and round) worms. In several cases, it has been found to act efficaciously by destroying the worms. It may be tried as a substitute for Santonin (B. D. B.).
740. Fraxinus floribunda, Wall, h.f.b.i., iii. 605 ; Roxb. 50.
Vern. : — Banarish (Afg.) ; Súm ; Sunnu ; Shun (Pb.) ; Angan, angu, dakhuri (U. P.) ; Kangu, tuhasi (Nepal).
Habitat: — Temperate and Sab-alpine Himalaya, from Kashmir to Bhotan and the Khasia Mts.
A large, deciduous tree. Bark ashy-grey. Smooth on young poles, dark and deeply longitudinally furrowed on mature trees. Wood white, with a light red tinge, no heart-wood, soft and moderately hard. Leaves opposite, imparipinnate, rachis 5-8in. long. Leaflets usually 7, less frequently 5-9, lateral opposite 3-5in. by l-3in., ovate, oblong, elliptic or lanceolate, usually long acuminate, falcately serrate, membranous, glabrous above, pilose on the nerves beneath when young. Main lateral nerves about 12 pair, slender, joined by reticulated secondary nerves. Petiolules 1/5-½in. Inflorescence a large terminal panicle ; pedicels fasciculated on the branches of the panicles. Flowers about 1/6in. long, generally 2-sexual. Calyx minute, acutely 4-toothed, somewhat enlarged in fruit. Corolla-lobes ⅛in. long, linear-oblong, narrowed at both ends, induplicate-valvate in bud. Stamens near base of Corolla-tube. Filaments about 1/10in. long. Ovary 2-celled. Stigma 2-fid ; ovules 2 in each cell, pendulous. Fruit an oblanceolate samara, 1-1½in. including the wing. Seed solitary.
Use : — A concrete, saccharine exudation (mannaj is obtained by incision from the stem, and is a substitute for the officinal manna. This is used for its sweeting and slightly laxative properties (Watt).
741. F. excelsior, Linn, h.f.b.l, III. 606.
Vern. : — Súm ; Kúm (Pb.).
Habitat : — Temperate West Himalaya and Western Tibet, Kashmir hills.
A large . tree, thick grey bark. Wood white, moderately hard. Leaves opposite, unequally pinnate. Leaflets 2-5 pair, all sessile or nearly so; 4 by 1¾in., elliptic, acuminate, serrate, midrib beneath glabrous or minutely pubescent. Flowers in short racemes, fascicled near tips of the branches, appearing before the leaves. Male and hermaphrodite alike without perianth. Calyx in all flowers obsolete. Filaments very short. Racemes in fruit l-6in., pendulous, pedicels ¼in. Samaras 1⅔ by ¼-⅓in., narrowed gradually to both the obtuse ends.
Uses : — A small quantity of saccharine matter exudes on incision from its bark. This only constitutes, however, a very small part of the Manna of European commerce, and does not appear to be used in India at all.
The bark is bitter and astringent, and was at one time, though very undeservedly, called European cinchona.
The leaves are purgative (Watt).
Transverse incision from the stems of this and other species of Frakinus, yields a concrete saccharine exudation, called Manna. Manna is a mild laxative, useful for children and delicate females, given in hot milk or in combination with other purgatives.
742. Olea Cuspidata, Wall, h.f.b.l, iii. 611.
Vern. :— Khwan ; Shwan (Trans-Indus) ; Zaitún (Afg.) ; Ko Kohu; Káo; Kan (Pb.) ; Kan (H.) ; Khan (Sind.) ; Khwan; Shwan (Baluch.).
Habitat: — Fairly common, N.-W. Himalaya. Dehra, Jaunsur, Cabul, Baluchistan, south Suleman Range.
A moderate-sized, deciduous tree, 30ft., glabrous, not spinous. Bark grey, thin, smooth, when young, when old exfoliating in long narrow strips. Wood very hard, smooth, close and even-grained ; sapwood whitish ; heartwood large, regularly shaped, from light brown or olive-brown to nearly black, clouded. Leaves 2-4in. long, oblong, lanceolate, cuspidate, entire, very coriaceous, dark-green and shining above, thickly coated with a dense film of minute red scales ; margins slightly recurved, midrib prominent, petiole about 1/5in. Flowers bisexual, whitish, in axillary trichotomous cymes, l-2in. long. Calyx nearly truncate or with 4 short teeth. Corolla deeply divided. Lobes 1/10in. elliptic, obtuse or acute, with a ridge along the middle, induplicate-valvate in bud. Anthers oval, dehiscing alternately. Style short, stigma bifid. Drupe ½-⅓in. long, ovoid, black when ripe, supported by the remains of the Calyx. Endocarp bony ; pulp scanty, oily.
Uses: — An oil is extracted from the fruit which is used medicinally as a rubefacient. Leaves and bark are bitter and astringent, used as an antiperiodic in fever and debility, (Brandis),
The Commissioner of Kohat has sent to the Indian Museum samples of the oil and fruit which is said to ripen in October and November. The fruits contained very little pulp and the oil appeared to be yielded by the speeds, the kernels of which contained 318 per cent. This may explain the small yield of oil recorded in pressing experiments made since 1851. It has been suggested that by grafting the European species and by improved method of extraction the yield might be improved. The oil of this wild olive has a greenish-yellow colour, and its characters resemble those of European olive oil. Crossley and Le Sueur in 1897 obtained the following constants : Specific gravity, 0.920 ; acid value, 5.0 ; saponification value, 190.9 ; iodine value, 93.6 ; Reichert-Meissl value, .6 ; insoluble fatty acids, 95.14 per cent. Like olive oil it was non-siccative, but the iodine value of this sample was abnormally high. A recent sample of this oil from Koliat had a more normal iodine value of 86.1. (Hooper).
743. 0. glandulifera, Wall, h.f.b.i., iii. 612.
Vern. :— Gúlili, raban, sira, pbalsb (Pb.) ; Gair, galdu, garur (Kumaon).
Habitat : — Fairly common along the outer Himalaya tracts, N.-W. Himalaya, from Kashmir to Nepal. Mountains of South India.
A moderate-sized tree, 20-60ft., glabrous or nearly so. Bark ⅓in. thick, grey, uneven, exfoliating in brittle scales. Branches lenticillate. Leaves rhomboid-lanceolate 4-2in., entire, ovate- lanceolate, long acuminate entire, margins slightly undulate; base cuneate. Main lateral nerves 9-12 pair, slender, with glands at their axils on either side of midrib. Petiole ½-1in. long. Flowers cream-coloured, in terminal or lateral compound trichotomous cymes. Calyx, four toothed. Corolla deeply divided ; lobes 1/10-⅛in - long, elliptic. Anthers large. Ovary glabrate. Drupe ½in. long, ovoid, somewhat oblique, acute at apex; endocarp bony.
Use : — The bark and leaves are astringent and used as an antiperiodic in fevers (Atkinson).
N. 0. SALVADORACEÆ.
744. Salvadora persica, Linn, h.f.b.l, III. 619 ; Roxb. 130.
Vern. :— Arák (Arab.) ; Darakhte-misvak (Pers.) ; Kabbar, kharidjar, pilu (Sind.) ; Jhál (Rajputana); Kaurivan, jhár (Pb.) ; Kharjál (H). Opa, ughai, kár kol, kalarva (Tam.) ; Waragu-wenki ; Ghoonia (Tel.) ; Pilu (Mar.) ; Khikan (Bom.).
Habitat : — India in the drier climates from the Punjab and Sindh to Patna. The Circars, North Ceylon.
A small glabrous evergreen tree, with usually a short and crooked trunk. Branches many, drooping, terete, glabrous, whitish-yellow. Bark thin, wood white, soft. Leaves, ovate or oblong, obtuse, 1¾ by ½ in. ; some-what fleshy. Petiole ½in. Panixllary or terminal, compound, 2-5 in., numerous in the upper axils. Flowers greenish white, scattered, pedicelled. Calyx 1/20in. loves ovate. Corolla 1/10 almost 5-partite. Filaments short, anthers ovate. Drupe or Berry red, smooth, ½ in. diam., scattered ; tastes of mustard. Flowers all the year.
Parts used: — The fruit; bark; shoots; leaves; juice, and roots.
Uses:— In Persian works on medicine, the fruit is described as deobstruent, carminative, and diuretic.(Dymock.) It is said to be administered in Sind with good effect in cases of snakebite, and to be used both in the fresh and in the dried state, although in the latter it loses much of its efficacy, and has to be administered in considerably larger doses and combined with borax.
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