petals beneath rigid, almost prickly. Flowers large, monoecious, all solitary ; peduncles obtusely angled. Male peduncle 4in., or more. Female peduncle l½in-, strongly 5-8 ridged, woody and with intervening deep grooves, usually enlarging next the fruit. Corolla yellow, 3-4in. Fruit fleshy, large, round, mostly yellow to orange, smooth, the flesh not hardening ; hollow interior of the fruit traversed by coarse and separate soft or pulpy threads. Seeds oblong or ovoid with a tip, margin slightly winged, raised.
Uses : — The seeds are supposed to possess anthelmintic properties. The Indian Pharmacopoeia advocates trials of these seeds being made.
The leaves of this plant are used as external applications for burns (Atkinson).
" The seeds are largely used for flavoring certain preparations of Indian hemp, and the root for a nefarious purpose, viz. to make the preparation more potent." (Watt).
The husks contain a Xylem, as Xylose crystals have been isolated from the syrup obtained after the husks had been hydrolysed with sulphuric acid. A galactan is also present, as the mother liquors from the Xylose crystals yield mucic acid when oxidised.— J. Ch. S. Abs. 1907, p. 806.
The oil has been examined by Poda (1898), Graham (1901) and others, and the constants do not differ widely from those found in the oil expressed in India.
Specific gravity at 15°, 0*923 to 0'928 ; solidifying point,— 16°; saponification value, 188.7 to 195.7 ; iodine value, 121.0 to 130.7 ; Reichert-Meissl value, 0.43 to 0.52 ; refractive index at 25°, 70.2 to 72.5 ; insoluble fatty acids and unsaponifiable, 94.7 to 96.2 per cent., melting at 28.4° to 32°. Power and Salway (1910) determined the composition as glycerides to be ; linolic acid 45 per cent., oleic acid 25 per cent., palmitic and stearic acids 30 per cent., and a phytosterol.
The cold drawn oil and the seeds are used for edible purposes ; the lower qualities of pumpkin seed oil serve as a burning oil. (Agricultural Ledger 1911-12).
549. Bryonia laciniosa, Linn, h.f.b.i., ii. 622 ; Roxb. 703.
Vern. : — Gargoo-naroo (H.) ; Mala (B.) ; Kardaleche-dole, Sivalinga, popti, kandon (Bomb.) ; Nehœmaka (Mal.) ; Lingadonda (Tel.).
Habitat : — From the Himalaya throughout India.
