Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Rubiaceæ
N. 0. RUBIACEǢ.
592. Anthocephalus Cadamba, Miq. h.f.b.i.,iii. 23.
Synonyms: — Nauclea Cadamba, Roxb. 172; Sarcocephalus Cadamba, Kurz.
Sans. : — Kadamba ; Nîpa.
Vern. :— Kadam, kadamb (H.); Kadam (B.) ; Bol-kadam (Chittagong) ; Sanko (Kól.) ; Pandúr (Lepcha) ; Kodum (Mechi) ; Roghu (Ass.) ; Kadambo (Uriya) ; Kadamba, nhyó (Bomb.) ; Kadam, kadamb, nhiv (Mah.) ; Kalam, nhio or nhiu (Panch Mahals) ; Kadamb (Guj.) ; Vellai cadamba (Tam.) ; Kadamba, rudraksha-kamba (Tel.) ; Heltega, arsanatega (Mysore) ; Kaada vailu, kadaga, kadwai (Kan.)
Habitat : — Wild in Northern and Eastern Bengal, Pegu and the Western Coast ; cultivated in Northern India.
A large deciduous tree of rapid growth ; branches horizontal, rather drooping at the ends. Bark dark-grey with numerous regular longitudinal fissures ; the outer bark peeling off in small rectangular scales. Wood white, with a yellowish tinge, soft, even-grained- Leaves coriaceous, shining, glabrous above, pubescent beneath, elliptic-oblong, ovate, or ovate-cordate, acute, 5-9 in. Stipules linear, early caducous. Flower-heads scented at night, simple, l-2in. diam., terminal, yellow, or orange-coloured, with white stigmas. Peduncles l-l½in. long. Corolla glabrous, lobes erect ; Calyx-lobes oblong, persistent. Ovaries non-confluent, 4 celled in the upper, 2- celled in the lower, portion. Bracteoles 0. Fruit a fleshy receptacle, as large as a small orange, on which are inserted numerous closely-packed few seeded capsules. Seeds not winged, minute.
Parts used : — The Bark and Leaves. Uses :— The bark is used as a febrifuge and tonic.
In the Concan, the fresh juice of the bark is applied to the heads of infants when the fontanelle sinks, and a small quantity mixed with cumin and sugar is given internally. In inflammation of the eyes, the bark juice, with equal quantities of lime juice, opium and alum, is applied round the orbit (Dymock.)
Decoction of the leaves is used as a gargle in cases of aphthæ and stomatitis (A. C. Mukerji, in Watt's Dictionary, I).
593. Adina cordifolia, Hook, f. and Bth., h.f.b.i., iii. 24.
Synonym : — Nauclea cordifolia, Willd.; Roxb. 172.
Sans. : — Dhárá-kadamba.
Vernacular names : — Haldu, hardu, kadámi, karam (Hind.) ; Bangka, keli-kadam, pet-puria, da-kóm (Beng.) ; Hardua, hardú (C. P.) ; Karâm (Nepal) ; Kúrumba, komba sanko (Kol.) ; Karám (Santal) ; Bara kuram (Mal.); Tikkœ (Bahraich and Gonda ;) Hardu, paspu kurmi (Gond.) ; Holonda (Uriya) ; Shangdong (Garo.); Roghu, keli kadam (Ass.); Manja kadambe (Tam.) ; Daduga, bettaganapa, bandaru, dúdagú, puspukandi, paspu kadimi (Tel.) ; Arsiutega (Mysore) ; Hedde, yettega-pettega, arsanatéga, yettada, ahuan (Kan.) ; Hedú (Mah.) ; Haladhwán (Guz.)
Habitat :— Dry forests, alt. 1—3,000 ft., from Kumaon to Sikkim, and throughout the hilly parts of India to Ceylon.
A large, deciduous tree, its trunk usually buttressed at the base. Bark soft, ½in. thick, grey, rough. Wood yellow, moderately hard, even-grained, no heartwood. Leaves cordate- orbicular abruptly acuminate, pubescent beneath, blade 4-9in. diam., petiole pubescent, 3-4in. Stipules pubescent, ½-¾in. long., concealing the uppermost pair of leaf-buds. Peduncles 2-4in. long, single or 2-3 from one leaf-axil. Flower-heads yellow, ⅔-1 in. diam., receptacle and bracteoles hairy. Calyx and Corolla densely pubescent. Calyx-tube 5-angled, lobes linear, deciduous. Corolla downy ; stigma clavate. Capsule 1/6in., cuneate, downy, cells about 6-seeded. Uses: — " The small buds, ground with round pepper, are sniffed into the nose in severe headache" (Revd. A. Campbell, Santal Mission, Pachumba). " Roots used as a medicine in Assam" (H. Z. Darrab, Esq., Assam).
The juice is used to kill worms in sores (Dymock).
594. Nauclea ovalifolia, Roxb. h.f.b.i., iii. 27 ; Roxb, 173.
The Fl. Br. Ind. considers it to be a doubtful species.
" Possibly Adiná sessilifolia. Don refers it to Uncaria elliptica, which is not a Khasian plant.
Vern. :— Shál (Sylhet).
Habitat : — " A native of the forests of Silhet, where it is called shál by the natives" (Roxb).
A small tree. Leaves oblong, glabrous ; rather coriaceous, 6-10by 3-6in., glossy above, base cordate, tip rounded. Stipules broadly oblong. Peduncles l-2in., very stout 1-3 terminal, solitary 1-headed. Flower-heads 1½in. diam., villous. Corolla shaggily silky. Stigma clavate, capsule ½in , cuneate.
Use : — The bark is said to possess bitterness equal to that of Cinchona, and is used by the border tribes in the treatment of endemic fevers and bowel complaints (Ph. Ind).
595. Hymenodictyon excelsum, Wall, h.f.b.i., iii. 35.
Syn. : — Cinchona Excelsa, Roxb. 178.
Vern. :— Bhaulan ; Bhalena (H) ; Kalakurwah (Bomb.); Bandâri (Dec.) ; Bartu (Pb.) Bandâru (Tel.); Sagapu (Tam.); Pundaroo, Kâla buchnak (H.) ; Bodoka, Konoo (Uriya) ; Sali (Kol.) ; Bhorkhend (Santal) ; Bhoursâl (Mar.) ; Dudiyetta, dudippa, chêtippa, bûrja, bandâra (Tel.) Bandaray anui (Kan.). Kukurkát, lamkana (Merwara).
Habitat : — Dry hills ; base of the Western Himalaya from Garwhal to Nepal ; throughout the Deccan and Central India to the Annamallays ; and in Chittagong.
A large, deciduous tree, 30-40ft. Bark of trunk furrowed and rough, that of branches smooth ; ½-¾ in. thick, grey, exfoliating in irregularly shaped, softish scales e Wood white when cut up fresh ; if cut up dry, brownish grey, soft. Leaves opposite ovate-elliptic or almost orbicular, abruptly acominate, finely pubescent on both surfaces, 4-10 by 3-5in. ; membranous, narrowed into a petiole l-3in. ; nerves 7-10 pair ; stipules broad, recurved, usually glandular serrate. Flowers pedicillate, white, fragrant, in dense cylindrical compound ; racemes in terminal drooping panicles, with linear or lanceolate bracts, as long as or longer than the flowers (Brandis). Corolla-tube slender, more than 3 times the length of the Calyx lobes, 1/6in. Stamens 5. Filament dilated. Anthers linear. Ovary 2-celled, style long, exserted. Stigma spindle-shaped. Capsules ¾-1in., on recurved thick pedicels, ¼-½in. long, even ⅔in., ellipsoid, many-seeded. Seeds flat, lenticular, winged all round the margin, ⅓ by 1/10. including the wing.
Uses : — The inner bark is bitter and astringent, and is used as a febrifuge. The outer layer of the bark is tasteless. The Pharm. Indica suggests that in all future enquiries into the subject of Indian antiperiodics. this bark should be one of the first to which attention should be directed.
Regarding the constituents of the bark, Messrs. Charles Stanley Gibson and John Lionel Simonsen write in the Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1916, pp. 161-162:—
This bark was first subjected to a chemical examination by Broughton in 1870, and subsequently Naylor (Pharm. Journ. 1893, 14. 311, 1884, 15, 195) investigated it much more thoroughly. Broughton showed that it contained a glucoside, aesculin, and that on keeping the bark lost its bitter flavour owing to the hydrolysis of the glucoside with formation of aesculetin (scopoletin). Naylor, on the other hand, succeeded in isolating a crystalline alkaloid to which he gave the name hymenodyctine and the formula C24H40N3 and also an amorphous neutral substance of the formula C22H43G10. *
From the results obtained by Naylor it seemed possible to us that the alkaloid might be of therapeutic value and furthermore, since it was one of the few alkaloids which do not contain oxygen, it should be of considerable scientific interest, and we decided, therefore, to attempt its isolation.
We have isolated aesculin and scopoletin, but we have been unable to find any traces of an alkaloid. It would, therefore, appear that Naylor cannot have
- This formula is obviously incorrect, containing as it does an odd number of hydrogen atoms,
examined the bark of the Hymenodyctyon excelsum, but must have been dealing with some other bark.
596. Oldenlandia corymbosa, Linn, h.f.b.i., iii. 64.
Syn. : — 0. biflora, Lamk., 0. vamosa, Roxb. 142.
Sans. : — Kshetraparpati ; Parpata.
Vern. : — Daman-papar (H.); Khetpapra (B.) ; Paripât (Mar.) ; Popato, Kâzuri (Goa),
Habitat: — An abundant weed throughout India, from the Punjab, Southward and Eastward, to Ceylon and Malacca.
A slender herb up to 1ft. or more high, but often diminutive and straggling. Leaves sessile, l-2in. long, linear or linear-lanceolate, erect, or spreading; margins scabrous and often revolute; stipules short, membranous, dentate or bristly. Peduncles axillary, solitary, slender, shorter than the leaves, usually 2-3-Oowered ; pedicels filiform; bracts, subulate. Calyx- teeth subulate, nearly equalling the tube when in flower. Corolla white, its tube short. Capsule usually broad, didymous or globose or narrowed to the base, not ribbed, the crown not rising above the base of the calyx-teeth.
It is an extremely variable plant, and some of its forms, cannot easily be distinguished from 0. diffusa (Duthie).
Uses : — By Sanskrit authors it is considered a cooling medicine of importance in the treatment of fevers supposed to be caused by deranged air and bile, that is, remittent fever, with gastric irritability and nervous depression. The entire plant is prescribed in decoction, and is combined with aromatics.
In Goa, it is much used combined with Adiantum limatum and Hydrocotyle asiatica as an alterative in. low forms of fever. In the Concan, the juice is applied in burning of the palms of the hand and soles of the feet from fever ; in burning at the pit of the stomach the juice is given internally with a little milk and sugar (dose 1 tola of the juice obtained by pounding the plant with water). The decoction is given in remittent fever, and is also applied to the surface of the body. It is also given internally to cure heat eruptions (Dymock). It is given, too, in jaundice and supposed diseases of the liver (Watt).
It is also anthelmintic (Surgeon-Major Mukerji, in Watt's Dictionary).
597. 0. umbellata, Linn, h.f.b.l, iii. 66 ; Roxb. 141.
Vern. : — Chirval ; Chirval-ki-lakri (H. and Dec.) ; Surbuli (B ); Cherivello ; Chiru vêru (Tel ) ; Sayawer ; Imbûral (Tam.) ; Kalpenyok (Lepcha).
Habitat : — Western Peninsula, from Orissa southwards. Found in the sandy scrub of the Coromandel Coast and largely collected (Gamble).
An annual herb, diffuse, glabrous or scaberulous. Stem woody, much-branched from the base. Stipules with bristles Leaves ½-1½in., spreading or recurved, often fascicled, linear, flat or almost acicular with recurved margins, acute, nerveless. Peduncles in the upper axils stout, 3-many-flowered ; pedicels short. Cymes sometimes sessile or terminal. Calyx-teeth a little shorter than the Corolla-tube, subulate. Capsule didymous, crown low. Seeds numerous, angled, testa smooth.
Uses: — The small, narrow, pale green leaves of this low-growing plant, the native doctors consider as expectorant, and prescribe them accordingly. Of the virtues of the root in poisonous bites, colds and cutaneous disorders, as mentioned in Millers Dictionary, I know nothing. When dried and powdered, the leaves are sometimes mixed with flour and made into cakes, which are eaten by such as suffer from consumptive and asthmatic affections. The dose of the decoction of the leaves is about an ounce twice daily (Anislie).
598. Ophiorrhiza Mungos, Linn, h.f.b.l, iii. 77 ; Roxb. 235.
Sans. : — Sârpâkshi.
Vern. : — Kiri-purandân (Tam.) ; Sarpâshi-chettu (Tel.) ; Sarathi (H.) ; Gandha nâkuli (B.). Habitat : — Khasia Mountains and Assam. Mountains of the Western Peninsula.
A suffrutescent herb, erect, glabrous, or stem petiole cymes and leaf-nerves beneath puberulous. Stipules small. Leaves 2-5 by 1-2½in., very thin, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, long- acuminate, narrowed into the petiole. Cymes l-3in. diam., flat-topped, glabrous or pubescent. Cyme-branches sub-umbellate, very spreading. Bracts absent. Calyx-teeth very short. Corolla white, glabrous round at the tip, in bud ⅓in., mouth not dilated ; lobes very short, obtuse, keeled at the back. Capsule 1/6-⅓in. diam., pedicelled. Seeds many, minute, angled.
Use : — The root is intensely bitter and may be used as a tonic Popularly believed to be a remedy against the bites of venomous snakes, mad dogs, &c.
599. Mussœnda frondosa, Linn, h.f.b.l, iii. 89 ; Roxb. 187.
Vern. : — Asari (Nepal); Tumberh (Lepcha) ; Bhûta-kesa, Lâudachúta (Bomb.) ; Shivardole (Mar.) ; Bebina (H.) ; Vellaellay (Tam.).
Habitat : — Tropical Himalaya, from Nepal eastward. Assam, Khasia Mountains, and the Western Peninsula, from the Concan southwards.
A large shrub, tomentose, hirsute or nearly glabrous. Bark grey, smooth, but granular. Wood white, soft, but moderately hard, close and even-grained. Leaves sessile or petioled, elliptic oblong or ovate, acuminate ; stipules long or short, often 2-fid. Cymes contracted or open, softly silkily-tomentose ; bracts and caducous calyx-lobes elongate-lanceolate, much larger than the ovary, twice the length of the ovary or longer. Corolla orange- yellow, pubescent, silky or hirsute; lobes broadly ovate, acute or acuminate. Berries obovoid, glabrous ; areole broad.
Uses : — In the Concan, a tola of the root is given with cow's urine in white leprosy.
In jaundice, 2 tolâs of the white leaves are given in milk (Dymock).
600. Randia uliginosa, Dc. h.f.b.i., iii. 110.
Syn. : — Posoqueria Uliginosa, Roxb. 239.
Vern.: — Pendari (Bomb.) ; Pindâlu, panar, paniah, katul, pindar, bharani (H.) ; Piralo (B.); Panelra, cindra, telp-hetru, phetra, (Mar.) ; Wagata (Tam.) ; Nalaika, devâtâmalle, nalla-kâkasi, gûâku (Tel.) ; Kare, pendri, pandri (Kan).
Habitat : — Eastern, Central and Southern India ; not common northwards, Sikkim and Assam.
A small, armed, rigid, glabrous, deciduous tree. Bark ½in. thick, reddish-brown, exfoliating in thin flakes. Wood whitish-grey close-grained, hard ; no heartwood. Branches quadrangular, usually bearing short, terete, decussate branchlets, with several pair of approximate leaves and above them 2-4 strong, straight, sharp, decussate thorns. Leaves glabrous and shining above, often pubescent beneath, obovate from a cuneate base ; blade 3-6in. long; petiole ¼in. long. Stipules triangular. Flowers solitary, white, dimorphic, either large and sessile, or small and petioled, scented. The large and sessile flowers often have Corolla 2in. diam., 2 separate stigmas, and the tube longer than the free portion of the Calyx. The small pedicillate flowers have a short Corolla-tube and a clavate stigma marked with spiral lines. Calyx-lobes short. Corolla-tube glabrous outside. Fruit, when ripe, yellow, edible, with a hard pulp, those produced by the large sessile flowers are ellipsoid, 2in. long, while those of the smaller peduncled flowers are of half that size. Seeds compressed, smooth, closely packed in pulp.
Uses :— The unripe fruit roasted in wood ashes is used as a remedy in diarrhœa and dysentery, the central portion consisting of the stone and seeds being rejected ; it is astringent (Dymock). The root, boiled in ghi, is sometimes given in similar cases.
601. R. dumetorum, Lamk. h.f.b.i., iii. 110.
Syn. : — Posoqueria dumetorum, P. nutans, P. longispina and P. floribunda, Roxb. 239-241.
Sans. : — Madana. Vern. :— Mainphal, manyul, karhar, arar (H.) ; Menphal (B.) ; Mindla, mandkolla, mindhal, mendphal (Pb.) ; Gundrow (Mar.); Mindhal (Guz.) ; Maidal, amuki (Nepal) ; Panji (Lepcha) ; Patiree (Uriya); Madu-karray, marukkallân-kay (Tam.) ; Mangha (Tel.) ; Kare (Kan.).
Habitat : — Subtropical Himalaya, from Jammu eastwards to Sikkim ; and thence southwards to Chittagong, and the Western Peninsula (not recorded from Assam, the Khasia Mountains, Silhet or the Eastern Peninsula).
A deciduous, thorny shrub or small tree, armed with stout axillary spines, l-l½in. or l-2in. long. Bark grey. Wood white or light-brown, compact, hard, close and even-grained. Branches horizontal, rigid, many of the lateral ones suppressed, and very short spines in opposite pair coming off immediately above branchlets, horizontal, woody, strong, very sharp. Leaves usually fasciculate on the suppressed branchlets, nearly sessile, l-2in. long, obovate, oval or spathulate, tapering to base, obtuse, apiculate, glabrous, or slightly pubescent, thin, reticulate veined. Stipules acuminate. Flowers lin. diam., 1-3 at ends of suppressed branchlets. Pedicels short. Calyx-limb broadly tubular, from nearly glabrous to very hairy; segments leafy, ovate, acute, imbricate, glabrous, or slightly hairy. Corolla hairy outside; tube as long as the Calyx ; lobes rounded, spreading. Fruit globose or broadly ovoid, about ¾in., crowned with large Calyx-limb, pilose, yellow, 2-celled ; pericarp thick. Seeds flat, surrounded with gelatinous pulp : Flowers yellowish-white, yellow, says Brandis.
Parts used : —The bark, rind and fruit.
Uses ;— The fruit is described by Sanskrit writers as the best and safest of emetics. One ripe fruit is said to be a sufficient dose; emesis is generally promoted by a drink containing bitters and aromatics.
Mahomedan writers describe it as an emetic which expels bile and phlegm, at the same time acting as an aperient; it should be administered with aromatics and honey (Dymock).
Externally applied, it acts as an anodyne in rheumatism (Stewart).
The bark is given internally and is also applied externally when the bones ache during fever (Revd. A Campbell).
An infusion of the bark is used as a nauseating medicine. It is also applied to bruises, mixed with cowdung.
Dr. Moodeen Sheriff has found the drug a good substitute for Ipecacuanha in dysentery. He recommends the powdered pulp as the most convenient form for administration. Dose : 40 grains as an emetic; 15 to 30 grains in dysentery.
The bark of the tree is astringent. In colic, the fruit is rubbed to paste with rice water and applied over the navel (Dymock).
It is also used to poison fish.
The pulp of the fruit is believed by many native practitioners to have also anthelmintic properties, and is sometimes used as an abortifacient. Ground into a coarse powder and applied thus to the tongue and palate, it is highly esteemed as a domestic remedy for the fevers and incidental ailments which children are subject to, while teething (Murray).
Sir James Sawyer of Dublin has used it "as a nervine calmative and antispasmodic in cases in which the vegetable antispasmodics, such as Valerian and Assafcetida, appear to be indicated."
In addition to the substances described later, a minute quantity of an alkaloïd was isolated, but not characterised or identified, and a small amount of lead (0.02 per cent.) was invariably present.
{{smaller|Randiasaponin, a glucoside, forms yellowish plates, or a white, amorphous powder, and melts and decomposes at about 250°. It loses 11*4 per cent, of water at 100° ; the percentage composition of the dry substance is C, 55.52; H, 8.72; O, 35.76. It is not hygroscopic, but dissolves in water to a neutral solution, which froths readily. It is reprecipitated from this solution by moderately strong hydrochloric or sulphuric acid, and is also thrown down by lead acetate and basic acetate as a gelatinous compound, which serves for its purification. It does not reduce alkaline copper solution, except after prolonged hydrolysis with dilute hydrochloric acid, when it is converted into randiasapogenin and two sugars. The osazone of one of these is insoluble in ether, crystallises in yellow crusts, and melts at 166—167°, whilst that of the other is soluble in ether and amorphous, and melts at 176—177°. Randiasaponin, like quillayasapotoxin, has the property of dissolving red blood corpuscles to a clear solution.
Randiasapogenin, C26H50O9 (?), the product of the hydrolysis of randiasaponin, forms a friable mass, little soluble in water. It decomposes without melting, the chief product being a substance crystallising in colourless needles. Moist randiasapogenin dissolves in strong sulphuric acid to a yellow solution, which shows a characteristic green fluorescence.
Randic acid, C30H52O10, appears to be a monobasic acid of the series CnH2n-8O10 characterised by Kobert as the saponin series, and exists, apparently, in loose combination with randiasaponin. It crystallises from alcohol in white, nodular masses, and melts at 208—210°. It is sparingly soluble in water and ether, freely in alcohol, acetic acid, and concentrated sulphuric acid ; solutions of the alkali salts froth very readily. The potassium salt is insoluble in alcohol. The calcium, barium, ferrous, ferric, copper, lead, mercurous, and mercuric salts are mentioned. Randic acid resembles quillayic acid in dissolving red blood corpuscles without destroying the colouring matter, and in precipitating albumins and peptones. To these properties, and the similar property of randiasaponin, the poisonous character of the fruit is probably due.
Randiatannic acid exists in small quantity in the pericarp, and is a brown, very hygroscopic mass, which is freely soluble in ether, as well as in water and alcohol. It gives a green coloration with ferric chloride, and a yellow precipitate with basic lead acetate, and reduces alkaline copper solution.
One of the products of the decomposition of randiatannic acid appears to be randia-red, C33H34O20 a substance to which the brown colour of the pericarp of the fruit is due; this is precipitated by acids from the alkaline extract as a brown powder, which is insoluble in water, alcohol, and ether, but easily soluble in alkalis. The solutions give reddish precipitates with lead acetate and alum. A brownish-red colouring matter, probably the ammonium-derivative, is precipitated by ammonia from the acid mother liquor ; it forms a harsh mass resembling asphalt, and is soluble in hot water; it is decomposed by caustic soda with evolution of ammonia.
Randia fat is a yellowish-green substance of the consistence of butter; it melts at 28—29°, and its sp.gr. is 0.9175 at 20° The acid number is 13.8; the ester number, 146.4; the saponification number, 160.2; and the iodine number, after two hours, 43.24. (J. Ch. S. 1895 pp. 189-190).
602. Gardenia lucida, Roxb. h.f.b.i., iii. 115 ; Roxb. 237.
Vern. : — Dikamali (H and Guz.) ; Konda-manga, tetta- manga kuru (C. P.) ; Karinga (Tel). ; Kumbi (Tam.).
Habitat: — Western Peninsula, common from the Concan southwards to Chittagong.
A small deciduous tree. Shoots resinous. Bark |in. thick, greenish grey, exfoliating in irregular flakes. Wood yellowish white, close-grained, hard ; no heartwood, no annual rings (Gamble). Leaves 3-10 by 2-5im, elliptic-oblong, narrowed into the short marginate petiole. Secondary nerves 20-25 pair ; stipules sheathing, large, broadly ovate, connate. Flowers fragrant, peduncled, white, turning yellow ; tube l-2in., lobes 5, obovate-oblong. Fruit ovoid, crowned with persistent Calyx- limb. Pericarp thick, woody ; endocarp thick, woody, nearly 2-celled, with prominent placentas.
Use : — The tree gives a gum resin from wounds in the bark and, from leaf-buds. This is hard, opaque yellow, greenish or brown with strong smell, and is used in cutaneous diseases and to keep off flies and worms (Gamble) .
603. G. gumnifera, Linn, h.f.b.i., iii. 116 ; Roxb. 238.
Vern. : — Dekamali, kamarri, (Hind.) ; Baruri, barui (Kol.) ; Papra, kamarri (C. P.) ; Chitamatta, chitnityal, gaggaru(Tel), ; Chitta, kambia (Kan.) ; Dikemâli (Bom.).
Habitat: — Chota Nagpore, Western Peninsula from the Satpura range southward. Central and South India ; in the Central Provinces, Dekkan, Konkan, Chittagong (Gamble).
A small tree ; " a woody bush," says J. D. Hooker. Bark greyish brown, smooth, Jin. thick. Wood yellowish- white, close-grained, hard. The buds yield a resinous, bright yellow gum, transparent and pleasant to chew, used like the gum-resin yielded by G. lucida. Gamble says he has never seen the gum procured from the bark. Leaves l½-2½in., coriaceous, cuneate or obovate, shining, sessile or sub-sessile ; base acute, obtuse or cordate ; sometimes puberulous beneath ; nerves 15-20 pair. Stipules connate, truncate or mucronate. Flowers subsessile, white. Calyxlimb shortly tubular, teeth stout, subulate ; lobes 5-6. Corolla-tube l-2in., glabrous or pubescent ; limb l-3in. diam., lobes 5, oblong, obtuse. Fruit l-l½in., ellipsoid or oblong, with a stout beak, smooth ; pericarp thin, woody, endocarp 4-5-valved (Roxburgh), thin, crustuceous, nearly 4-5- celled (Brandis) ; placentas 4-5.
Uses : — The gum obtained from this plant is used internally in dyspepsia accompanied by flatulence. In veterinary medicine, it is employed to keep off flies from sores (Dymock). Used by natives as an astringent for cleansing foul ulcers, and for allaying irritation of the gums and checking diarrhœa during teething of children (Murray, 195).
Those who have written upon Indian drugs, say little about this resin, although it is an article of commerce, and can always be obtained in quantity. Recently it has attracted attention in Europe, and has been examined by Stenhouse, Groves and Fluckiger (Dymock).
The drug is considered antispasmodic and carminative, and, when applied externally, antiseptic and stimulating. Said to be a successful anthelmintic in cases of round worm (Watt).
The powdered gum-resin is said to have diaphoretic and expectorant properties, used internally in guinea-worm, dose from 2 to 16 grains ("Surgeon Joseph Parker, in Watt's Dictionary).
604. G. turgida, Roxb. h.f.b.l, iii. 118 ; Roxb. 439.
Vern. : — Thanella, khûrûr khuriari, ghurga, mhaner (H.) ; Bamemia, dhobel kirat (Uriya) ; Karhar, duduri (Kol.) ; Phurpata (Kurku) ; Dandu kit, dondonki (Santal) ; Panjra. pendra (Gond.) ; Karumba (Raj.); Karhâr; Khemra (C. P.); Khur-phendra, pendri, phanda, phetra (Mar.) ; Phetrak (Bhil.) ; Manjunda, telel (Tel.) ; Bongeri (Kan.).
Habitat : — Tropical Himalaya ascending to 4,000 ft., from Kumaon to Bhotan, Oudh, Behar, Chota Nagpore, Bombay, Central and Southern India, also in Burma.
A small-deciduous tree, 25ft. Bark smooth, bluish — grey, 1/5in. thick, compact. Wood close-grained, white, with a purplish tinge, no heart wood (Gamble). Branches rigid, robust, armed with strong, axillary, often leaf-bearing, spines. Leaves often crowded at ends of branchlets, l-4in. long, obovate, narrowed into short marginate petiole, tomentose or pubescent above, when mature. Flowers white, fragrant. Corolla-tube ⅓-½in. long. Fertile flowers solitary, sessile. Calyx-lobes oblong, sterile clustered in short pedicels. Calyx-teeth minute, sometimes unequal. Fruit grey, l-3in., ovoid or globose, smooth ; pericarp thick, endocarp woody, shining within. Placentas 2-6.
Use : — A preparation from the root is employed by the Santals as a remedy for indigestion in children (Revd. A Campbell).
605. G. campanulata, Roxb. h.f.b.i., iii. 118 ; Roxb. 238.
Vern. : — Hsay-than-paya (Burm.)
Habitat :— Foot of the Sikkim Himalaya ; Assam, Sylhet and Chittagong ; Behar, and summit of Parasnath.
A large, deciduous shrub or small tree, 15-20ft., armed with long straight sharp spines, ½-1½in., often leafy or leaf-bearing. Leaves membranous, glabrous, lanceolate ; blade 2-4in., or l½-3in. by ½-1½in., narrowed into a short petiole ; midrib slender, nerves faint. Petiole ¼-½in. Stipules triangular, caducous. Flowers greenish-white. Calyx of male flower ⅓in., ellipsoid or subglobose. Corolla-tube ⅓in. long, upper portion campanulate, white. Lobes short, obtuse. Fertile flowers solitary, sessile. Calyx-teeth oblong or spathulate, foliaceous. Sterile flowers fasciculate shortly pedicellate. Fruit ¾-1¼in. long, ellipsoid or globose, obscurely 5-ridged ; pericarp very thick ; endocarp woody. Placentas 5.
Use :— The fruit is used as a cathartic and anthelmintic (Roxb.).
606. Diplospora sphaerocorpa, Dalz. h.f.b.i., iii. 123.
Habitat : — Western Peninsula, or the Ghats, from Bombay southwards.
An evergreen, small, glabrous tree. Branches terete. Leaves 2-6 by 1½-2½in., elliptic lanceolate, obtuse or acute. Petiole ¼-½in. ; stipules short, tip not setaceous. Flowers fascicled, shortly pedicelled. Calyx-limb 4-lobed. Calyx-teeth obtuse, ciliolate. Corolla-tube very short, (shorter than the Calyx-teeth) , throat glabrous, lobes 1/6in. Filaments very short. Fruit pedi celled, globose, fin. diam., " on bracteolate pedicels, ¼in. long," says Brandis. Seeds few, vertically imbircate, much compressed.
Uses: — The berries of this tree are known as "wild coffee." The roasted and powdered seeds were submitted to Brig-Gen. A. Kenney Herbert, a great authority on Indian cookery, and he reported as follows : — The percolated liquor had a remarkably pleasant taste, having a marked flavour of coffee. Indeed, the only difference I could detect was this : the liquor was not so dark in tint as coffee, being more golden-brown than dark brown, and the beverage brewed seemed not quite so strong as would have been produced by a similar quantity of coffee powder. There can be no doubt of the distinct coffee-like properties of this powder, and the absence of any twang or conflicting flavour to mar its pleasant taste (Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. II., p. 226).
607. Canthium didymum, Roxb. h.f.b.i., iii. 132 ; Roxb. 180.
Syn. : — Plectornia didynia, Kurz, Psydrax dicoccos, Gœru.
Vern. : — Garbhagojha (Santal) ; Yerkoli (Tam.) ; Yellal, porawa-mârâ, galkaranda (Kan.).
Habitat : — Sikkim Himâlaya, and distributed east to the Khâsia and Jayntea Mountains. Also met with in Chutia Nagpur and in the Western Peninsula, from the Concan southwards. .
A stout, evergreen, unarmed glabrous shrub, Leaves very variable, 2-6 by ½-4in., very coriaceous, polished above, usually obtusely caudate-acuminate, base acute obtuse or even cordate, nerve-axils eglandular ; petiole 1/6-⅓in. Cymes compressed, subsessile or on a short peduncle, ¼-lin., sometimes puberulous. Bracts short or 0. Flowers 5-merous. Calyx truncate or obscurely toothed. Corolla campanulate, tube 1/10-¼in. ; lobes 5, subacute. Style glabrous ; stigma subquadrate, notched or 2-fid. Fruit very variable, ¼-⅓in. globose or ellipsoid or obovoid compressed, subdidymous, putamen rugose. (J. D. Hooker). Uses : — The bark is used by the Santals in fever (Revd. A. Campbell). Watt, ii. 129.
608. C. parviflorum, Lamk, iii. 136 ;. Roxb. 176.
Syn. : — Webera tetrandra, Willd.
Vern : — Kirni (Bomb.; ; Karai-cheddi (Tam.) ; Tsjêron kâra (Mal.) ; Bâlusu chettu, bâlsu (Tel.)
Habitat : — Western Peninsula, from the Concan southwards.
A rigid, glabrous shrub ; branches stiff, spreading ; spines numerous, axillary or subaxillary, straight, stout and sharp. Wood hard, close-grained. Spines l-2in. long. Leaves glabrous, crowded on shortened lateral shoots, small, ovate, obovate or orbicular-obtuse, ½-1in. long, rather coriaceous, dirty-green when dry, opaque, base cuneate ; stipules small, with long cuspidate points ; petiole slender, 1/10-¼in. long. Cymes ¼-¾in. Peduncle and pedicel slender, short or long. Flowers 4-merous, yellowish, in many-flowered peduncled cymes. Calyx-teeth minute. Corolla-tube broad, campanulate, 1/10in. long, a little longer than lobes, " subglobose lobes obovate," says J. D. Hooker. Style glabrous, stigma capitate, tuberculate, " globose," says Brandis. Fruit yellow, edible, subquadrate or obcordate subdidymous, ½in. diam., enclosing 2 hard stones. "Spines sometimes three-fold " (Roxburgh).
Use : — A decoction of the edible leaves, as well as the root of this plant, is prescribed in certain stages of flux, and the last is supposed to have anthelmintic qualities, though neither have much sensible taste or smell (Ainslie, Mat. Med. ii. 63).
609. Vangueria Spinosa, Roxb. h.f.b.l, iii. 136. Roxb. 180.
Sans. : — Pindu, Pinditaka.
Vern. : — Alu (Mar.).
Habitat : — From Northern Bengal to Canara. Common in the Ghâts, in Bombay and throughout the Konkans, Khandesh, Bengal, Tenasserim and Burma,
A small handsome tree, or large bush, thorny. Spines simple or 3-nate. Leaves glabrous, villous or tomentose, opposite, or 3-nate, whorled, membranous, ovate or obovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate ; blade 2-4in., petiole ⅛-lin. ; stipules cuspidate, from a broad base, very deciduous. Flowers small, greenish, in shortly peduncled Cymes, l-l½in. . Calyx with 5 teeth. Style glabrous ; stigma 4-5-lobed. Drupe ½-lin. diam. ; fleshy, edible, smooth, subglobose or turbinated, with 4 or 5 smooth, broadly hard, 1-seeded stones.
Use : — It is the Pindu and Pinditaka of Sanskrit writers, who consider the fruit to be medicinal, and describe it as strengthening, cooling, and an expellant of phlegm and bile.
The fruit is eaten when ripe, cooked or uncooked, or roasted.Another allied species, V. edulis, a native of Madagascar, is cultivated in gardens for its edible fruit.
Contains sugar, gum and a small quantity of tannin, but no cyanogenetic glucoside or alkaloid was found. The dried seeds yield on extraction with ether 14.01 p.c. of a semi-drying oil, with an iodine value of 15.07.— D. Hooper. Annual Report, Indian Museum, Industrial Section, 1909-1910.
610. Ixora Parviflora, Vahl. h.f.b.l, iii. 142.
Vern. :— Kotâgandhal (Loha janzia, in Chutia Nagpur) (H.) ; Rangan (B.) ; Pêtê (Kol.) ; Merom met (Santal) ; Tellu, Kurwan (Uriya) ; Disti, kori (Gond.) ; Kurat, lokandi, narkurat, raikura, guâvi-lakri, mâkri che-jhâr (Bomb.) ; Kura (Konkan) ; Shulundu kora (Tam.) ; Korimi pâla, korivi pâla. putta pâla, karipal, kachipadel, tadda pallu (Tel.) ; Gorivi, korgi, bennugorvi (Kan.)
Habitat : — Western Bengal, Behar, Western, Central and South India.
A small, evergreen, glabrous tree ; cymes sometimes slightly pubescent. Leaves coriaceous, hard, shining, sessile, or shortly pedicillate petiolate, oblong or ovate-oblong, with a rounded or nearly cordate base, 4-5in. long ; the reticulate veins nearly as prominent as the secondary nerves. Flowers white or pink, scented, in ample, nearly sessile, compound trichotomous cymes. Corolla glabrous, tube ⅓-½in., lobes oblong, filaments short. Style very pubescent ; tip of Corolla ellipsoid in bud. Stigma subcapitate, simple or cleft. Fruit small, didymous. Seeds plano-convex. Use : — The Santals employ the root or fruit as a medicine to be given to females when the urine is high colored (Revd. A Campbell).
611. I. coccinea, Linn, h.f.b.l, iii. 145. Roxb. 126.
Syn. :— I. Bandhuca, Roxb. 126.
Sans. : — Ruktaka ; Bandhooka.
Vern. :— Rangan, Rajana (B.) ; Pankul (Mar.). Bakora, âbuli (Bomb.).
Habitat : — Cultivated throughout India, a native of the Western Peninsula, in the Concan or Chittagong.
A shrub, with long branches, twigs compressed, thickened at nodes. Leaves small, 2-3in., obovate or oval-oblong, rounded or even, subcordate at base, acute, often cuspidate at apex, glabrous and shining, rather rigid, lateral veins somewhat conspicuous, pellucid ; petiole extremely short ; stipules, with a long rigid bristle, sub-persistent. Flowers rather large, shortly stalked, cymes lax, trichotomous. Calyx-segments, either short, with toothed margin, or longer and acute, shorter than ovary. Corolla-tube l-l⅛in., very slender, lobes oblong- oval, acute or obtuse, about half as long as tube, spreading. Fruit ½in., nearly globose, purple, says Trimen. Bright scarlet, says K. R. K., in the specimens found throughout the Konkan, in uncultivated plants found in the jungles, where they are most conspicuous before the monsoons, with their beautifully scartlet flowers in showy tufts. The fruit is edible. There are many garden varieties bearing similar tufts of lemon-yellow 7 flowers ; pink flowers, large and small ; pale cream-coloured flowers, with a tinge of red. Trimen has found all these forms of the plant in Ceylon. Brandis says that the plant is very common in the Western Peninsula, near the Western coast, also along the Ghats, on river banks. In Burma, only cultivated. An ornament of Indian gardens.
Uses: — In dysentery, 2 tolâs of the flowers, fried in ghi (melted butter), are rubbed down with 4 gunjâs each of Cumin and Nâgkesar, and made into a bolus with butter and sugar-candy, and administered twice a day (Dymock). Asst.-Surgeon Amrita Lai Deb of Howrah, has found it very useful in dysentery. Drs. Bird and Pilcher have also favourably reported on its efficacy in that disease. (Vide I. M. G., Oct., 1878 ; p. 281.)
612. Pavetta Indica, Linn, h.f.b.l, iii. 150.
Syn. : — Ixora Pavetta, Roxb. 129.
Sans: — Pappana.
Vern. :— Kûkûra-chûra (B.) ; Pâpat, tartari (Bom.) ; Pavuttay (Tam.); Malleamothe (Mal.) ; Paputta, Nooni-papoota (Tel.); Kankra (Hind.).
Habitat :— Throughout India, from the Western Himalaya in Garwhal to Bhotan, and southwards to Ceylon.
A large shrub. Bark thin, smooth, brownish grey. Wood white to light brown, hard, close-grained (Gamble). Branches numerous, spreading, twigs cylindric, glabrous, or tomentose. Branchlets obtusely quadrangular, says Brand is. Leaves lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, sometimes obovate, acuminate, subacute, glabrous on both sides, dark green and shining above, with scattered large, thickened, hard warts, more prominent above than beneath ; blade 3-9in. (Trimen), 4-9in. (Brandis), petiole ¼-½in., stipules connate, triangular, acute, thin, deciduous. Flowers very numerous on pedicels, longer than Calyx, white, rather fragrant. Cymes copious, lax, corymbose, terminal, glabrous, often with bracts below the branches. Calyx-segments, very small, tooth-like. Corolla-tube about ½in.. Lobes obtuse, about half length of tube ; style exserted for fully ¾in., very slender ; stigma slightly clavate. Fruit ¼-⅝in. diam., nearly glabrous, polished, dark.
Uses: — The root is bitter, possessing aperient qualities, and is commonly prescribed by native doctors in visceral obstructions ; given in powder to children, the dose is about a drachm or more (Ainslie).
Boiled in water, a fomentation is made from the leaves for hæmorrhoidal pains. The root is pulverised and mixed with ginger and rice water, and given in dropsy ( Rheede).
Mr. H. M. Bird wood calls it " Matheran coffee.
613. Morinda citrifolia, Linn. Var. bracteata, H.F.B.I., iii. 156.
Syn. :— M. bracteata, Roxb. 182.
Sans. : — Achchhuka.
Vern.-.—Al (H); Ach, Aich, Achhu (B.); Al ; Bârtondi, nâgakuda, aseti (Bomb.) ; Munja-pavattay ; Noona-maram (Tam.) ; Cada pilva (Mal.) ; Molagha; Maddichetton (Tel.)
Var: — Bracteata, hurdi, huldi kunj, rouch (B.)
Habitat : — Cultivated and wild (?) throughout the hotter parts of India.
A large shrub or small tree, glabrous, trunk straight, bark smooth, branches obtusely 4-angled. Leaves shining, usually 6-10in., broadly elliptic, acuminate, acute or obtuse short-petioled, one of the pair next to the peduncle often suppressed. Stipules large, broadly oblong or semilunar, entire or 2-3-fid, glabrous. Peduncles solitary, rarely 2-3-nate at the ends of the branches, usually in the axils of every other pair of leaves, lin. long or more, supporting leaf not developed. Flowers 5-merous. Calyx-limb truncate. Corolla white, tube ½in. or less. Lobes glabrous, fusiform in bud, throat pubescent. Anthers partly exserted. Fruit of many drupes coalescent into a fleshy globose or ovoid head, pale, greenish-white, lin. diam.
Use : — The charred leaves made into a decoction with mustard are a favourite domestic remedy for infantile diarrhœa. The unripe berries, charred and mixed with salt, are applied successfully to spongy gums ^Watt's Dictionary).
The Cochin Chinese believe the fruit to be deobstruent and emmenagogue (Ainslie.) The expressed juice of leaves is externally applied to gout, to relieve pain (Drury). In Bombay, the leaves are used as a healing application to wounds and ulcers, and are administered internally as a tonic and febrifuge (Dymock).
The root is used as a cathartic (Watt)
The oil is of a yellowish color, with a Sp. Gr. of 0.927 at 13°C. It is cloudy, owing to the separation from it of small crystals, which, recrystallised from alcohol, melt at 60° C, and, upon analysis, are shown to consist of paraffins. When freed from the crystals, the oil is almost entirely soluble in dilute caustic soda. In the solution capronic and caprylic acids as well as a trace of higher aliphatic acids, can be detected. In the neutral part of the oil, which only amounts to a few per cent, ethyl alcohol can be detected after saponification ; methyl alcohol and alcohols of a fusel-like odor are also probably present. The percentage of acids is over 90, a rare occurrence with essential oils. [J. Ch. I for Jan. 31, 1910, p. 110].
614. M. tinctoria, Roxb. h.f.b.i., iii. 156 ; Roxb. 182, 183.
Sans. : — Achchuka.
Vern. : — A'l (H.) ; Ach, dâruharidrâ (B.) ; Achu (Uriya) ; Chaili, bankatari (Santal) ; Larnong, asûkhat (Assam) ; Ach, aich (C. P.) ; Manjishta (Bomb.) ; Maddi chettu, mulaga chettu (Tel.)
Habitat : — Throughout India.
A moderate-sized or small deciduous tree, usually pubescent or tomentose. Bark corky, bottle brown or grey, with numerous, deep, longitudinal cracks. Wood red, often yellow, with red streaks, moderately hard, close-grained. Leaves not shining, elliptic-obovate or lanceolate, blade 4-8, narrowed into petiole ½-1in. long. Peduncles solitary, axillary leaf opposed, frequently in short trichotomous panicles at the ends of branch-lets. Flowers 5-merous. Corolla usually tomentose outside, tube, ½-⅓in. long, anthers exserted or included, syncarpium ¾in. diam. [Syncarpium or syncarp is a multiple or fleshy aggregate fruit, such as the mulberry or magnolin.]
Use : — The root is used internally as an astringent. (Irvine).
615. M. umbellata, Linn, h.f.b.i., iii. 157.
Syn. : — M. Scandens, Roxb. 184.
Vern. : — Noona-marum (Tam.) ; Moolooghoodoo (Tel.) ; A'l (Bomb.); Maddi-chekhi (Kan.)
Habitat : — Hills of Eastern Bengal and the Malay Peninsula, from the Khasia Mountains to Penang and Singapore ; Western Peninsula, South Concan, Neilgherry and Travancore Mountains.
A large diffuse shrub, climbing by long tomentose, slender branches. Leaves rarely 5in., usually membranuous, from broadly ovate to elliptic or linear-lanceolate, obtuse, acute or caudate, acuminate, glabrous, pubescent or tomentose beneath ; nerves very distinct. Stipules acute, connate. Petiole slender, ¼in. long. Heads in sessile terminal umbels. Corolla almost retuse, throat bearded ; tube of Corolla short, not ¼in. Fruit a syncarpium, of the size of large pea or larger, irregularly lobed.
Use : — Regarding this, Ainslie makes the following observations: — The leaves, in conjunction with certain aromatics, the Tamool doctors use in decoction, in cases of diarrhœa and dysentery, in the quantity of half a tea-cupful twice daily.
616. Paederia fœtida, Linn. iii. 195; Roxb. 229.
Sans. : — Prâsarani.
Vern. : — Khip, gandhali, gundali (H.) ; Gundhabhâ-duli (H.) ; Prasâram (Bomb.) ; Hiranwel (Mar) ; Bedoli sutta (Assam) ; Takpœdrik (Lepcha) ; Padebiri (Sikkim).
Habitat: — From the Central and Eastern Himalaya, southward to Malacca and westward to Calcutta.
A glabrous, fœtid shrub. Leaves opposite, long-petioled, or nearly glabrous ovate or lanceolate, 2-6 by ¾-2½in., base acute, rounded or cordate ; peteole ½-1in. Cyme branches opposite panicles 2-6in. long, pubrulous. Bracts minute, ovate, or subulate, ciliolate. Flower sessile and pedicelled. Calyx small, tube campanulate. Calyx-teeth short, triangular. Corolla ½-⅔in., tomentose. Fruit ⅓-¼in., polished, crowned with conical disk and minute Calyx-teeth.
Uses : — The decoction prepared of the leaves is considered wholesome and nutritive for the sick and convalescent. The whole plant is regarded as a specific for rheumatic affections, in which it is administered both internally and externally (Dutt).
The roots are used by the Hindoos as an emetic (Roxburgh).
The juice of the leaves is considered astringent and given to children when suffering from diarrhœa : dose 1 drachm. (Surgeon Mukerji, in Watt's Dictionary).
" The fruit is used to blacken the teeth by Lepchas and Pharias ; this, they say, is a specific against tooth-ache " (Gamble).
617. Spermacoce hispida, Linn. III. 200 ; Roxb. 125.
Vern. : — Nutteechoorie (Tam.) ; Thartavel (Mal.) ; Madana-ghanti (Tel.) ; Ghânta-chibaji (Concan) ; Madana ghanti (H ; ) ; Pitua arak (Santal).
Habitat : — Throughout India, from the Western Himalaya at Simla, to Assam, and southwards to Ceylon.
Procumbant herb, scabrid hispid or hirsute. Root-stock annual or perennial. Branches 6-14in., ascending, stout, 4- angled. Leaves subsessile, ½-1½ by ⅓-⅔in., often rounded at the tip, rigidly coriaceous, ovate, spathulate, oblong or elliptic obtuse or acute, margins plater-waved, sometimes thickened and cartilaginous. Flowers 4-6 in a whorl. Calyx-teeth linear-lanceolate. Corolla 1/6-½in., blue or white. Stigmas 2, very short Capsule 1/5in. long, hispid or pubescent, rounded at base. Seeds oblong, granulate, opaque, very variable, 1/10-⅛in. long, narrow or broad.
Use : — The root possesses properties similar to Sarsaparilla. It is used as an alterative, and is generally prescribed in the form of a decoction (Ainslie). The seeds have been recommended as a substitute for coffee.
618. Rubia cordifolia, Linn, h.f.b.i., iii. 202.
Syn. : — R. Munjista, Roxb. 125.
Sans. : — Manjishtha.
Vern. : — Majith, Manjit (H. and Bomb.) ; Munjith, Aroona (B.) ; Manjiti, shevelli (Tam.) ; Poont (Mal.) ; Mandastic, Tamravalli (Tel.) ; Manjustha (Kan.) ; Itári (Bomb).
Habitat : — Throughout the hilly districts of India, from the N.-W. Himalaya eastwards, and southwards to Ceylon and Malacca.
A scandent herb. Root perennial, very long, cylindric, flexuose, with a thick cortex. Stems very long, often many yards, becoming slightly woody at base, flexible, tough, cylindric. Bark white, branches scandent, by means of the many numerous divaricate or deflexed branchlets and petioles, quadrangular, sometimes prickly on the angles, smooth, shining. Leaves 4in a whorl, ¾-1½in. ; ovate, cordate at base, tapering to acute apex, scabrous above and on the veins beneath, and especially on the margin, with small, white, recurved prickles, 5-or 7-veined from base, stiff, often convex above, with apex hooked, sometimes pubescent beneath. Petiole about twice as long as leaves, usually deflexed, tapering, stiff and branchlike, deeply channelled above, triangular, with many sharp recurved prickles on the angles. Flowers, 5-merous, minute, on short, glabrous pedicels, cymes lax, trichotomous, glabrous. Anthers globose. Corolla-tube thick, very short, lobes ovate, obtuse. Fruit about ⅓in., very didymous, the carpels almost distinct, smooth, shining, purplish black. The Ceylon plant, says Trimen, has the stem almost destitute of prickles. " A very variable plant. The Khasian specimens have usually 3-nerved leaves, not impressed above ; in Western Peninsula the nerves are 5-7, and deeply impressed." (Hooker).
Uses: — In Hindoo medicine, it is chiefly used as a coloring agent. It is useful as an astringent in external inflammations, ulcers and skin diseases, &c. Chakradatta recommends Madder, rubbed with honey, as an application to the brown spots of pityriasis versicolor (Dutt).
The Mahomedans consider the drug to be deobstruent, and prescribe it in paralytic affections, jaundice, obstructions in the urinary passages and amenorrhea, They mention the fruit as useful in hepatic obstruction, and a paste made from the roots with honey, as a good application to freckles and other discolorations of the skin. The whole plant is reputed to be alexipharmic (Dymock).
Ainslie says that an infusion of the root is prescribed by the Hakims to women after delivery, to procure copious flow of lochia.
Dr. G. Playfair, in a note appended to his translation of the Talif-i-Sharifi (p. 150), states that, if taken to the extent of about 3 drachms, several times daily, it powerfully affects the nervous system, inducing temporary delirium, &c, with evident determination to the uterine system (Ph. Ind.).
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