Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Rhizophoreæ
The composition of American Storax deviates so insignificantly from Oriental Storax that they may be regarded as identical. The Agricultural Ledger. 1904— No. 9 p. 120.
N. 0. RHIZOPHORACEÆ
487. Rhizophora mucronata, Lamk, h.f.b.i., ii. 435.
Syn. :— R, Mangle, Willd. Roxb. 389.
Vern. ; — Bhorar (B.) ; Upoo-punna, adair-pouna (Tel.) ; Rai (Uriya) ; Kamo, kimro (Sind.) Kândel, hariya (Bomb.;.
Habitat : — Tidal shores, from the mouths of the Indus to Malacca and Ceylon. Bombay, Western Coast, Bandra (K. R. K.)
A small, evergreen tree, of muddy shores and tidal creeks of India, Ceylon, Burma and the Andaman Islands, sending down numerous aërial roots into the mud of the mangrove swamp. The lower part of the trunk dies early, and the tree is then supported by a number of branching aerial roots, standing, as it were, on stilts. Bark brown, fairly smooth, with vertical clefts. Sapwood light-red ; heartwood dark-red, extremely hard, splits and warps a little in seasoning (Gamble). Leaves elliptic mucronate by the excurrent midrib, 3-7 by l½-4in., narrowed at base. Stipules large, deciduous, enclosing the buds. Petiole 1-l¾in. Cymes 3-5-fid, from the axils of the current year's leaves. Peduncles 1-1½in.; " longer than the petioles," says Mr. Henslow, about 3-flowered ; pedicels short, thick. Flowers more or less drooping. Calyx-segments 4, irregular, narrowing upwards, ½in., oblong-lanceolate, keeled within, persistent and enlarged in fruit. Petals hairy within, shorter than the Calyx-limb, subconnivent, coriaceous, margins involute. Anthers 8. Fruit l½-2in. long, dark brown, embryo often attaining 30in. before falling from the tree. " The seeds often germinate while yet on the tree and drop as young plants into the mud below- The roots also progress and form constantly fresh stems supported by the buttressed roots standing out of the mud. (Gamble). Use : — The bark has been tried medicinally in cases of hæmaturia.
(For notes on the medicinal utilization of the astringency of this tree, see Ph. J. for 1st Sept., 1888 ; p. 179).
488. Ceriops Candolleana, Arn h.f.b.l, ii. 436.
Vern. :— Kirrari ; Chauri (Sind) ; Goran (B.).
Habitat : — Tidal forests, &c, from the mouths of the Indus to Malacca and Ceylon.
A small, evergreen tree, in the tidal forests of Sindh, the Western Peninsula, Bengal, Ceylon and the Andamans, Sea coast of Tropical Asia, Africa and Australia. " A simple stemmed shrub " almost reaching 25ft. in height, with a girth of 18in. (Schlich), and many buttresses at base" (Gamble). Bark dark-red. Wood orange-red, hard. Leaves 2-3 by l-2in., ovate, very obtuse, cuneate or attenuate at the base. Cymes peduncled, branching, pedicels short. Calyx 5-cleft, lobes linear acute ; petals 5 glabrous emarginate tip with 3-4 capitate bristles. Stamens 10, alternately shorter ; filaments much longer than the anthers. Ovary half-inferior, 3-celled. Style short, stigma simple. Fruit small, club-shaped or subovate> surrounded near base by the reflexed segments of the calyx.
Parts used :--The bark and shoots.
Uses : — The whole of the plant abounds in an astringent principle. The decoction of the bark is used to stop hæmorrhage, and applied to malignant ulcers. On the African Coast, a decoction of the shoots is used as a substitute for quinine. (Watt).
489. Kandelia Rheedii, W. and A. h.f.b.l, ii. 437.
Vern. : — Guria (B.) ; Rasunia, rasuria (Uriya).
Habitat : — Bengal, Burma and the Western Coast.
An evergreen shrub or small tree, with a simple stem. Bark ¼in., spongy, red-brown, peeling oil in small flakes. Wood soft, close-grained, reddish-brown. Leaves 2-4 by l-2in., elliptic-oblong, narrowed into petiole, l-2in. long, quite entire, dark-green above, reddish-brown beneath, glabrous. Peduncles about l½in., erect, twice-branched, dichotomously in 'cymes. Flowers white. Calyx surrounded at base by bracteoles, connate into a cup, lobes 5 or 6, linear, ½-2/3in. long. Petals bifid, the lobes divided into numerous capillary segments. Stamens numerous, anthers small, filaments slender. Ovary half-inferior, prolonged beyond the calyx into a fleshy cone, one-celled. Ovules six, style slender, stigma 3-lobed. Fruit lin., conicovoid, girt at the base by the reflexed calyx- lobes,
Use : — The bark, mixed with dried ginger or long pepper and rose-water, is said to be a cure for diabetes (Rheede).
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