oblongovate, cordate at base, with rounded lobes, suddenly acute at apex, glabrous above, pubescent on veins beneath, rather thick ; venation reticulate, glabrous ; bracts minute. Sepals oval, obtuse, glabrous. Follicles (one generally suppressed ?) (K. R. K.), 5-6in., fusiform, oblong, blunt, cylindric, with a deep furrow along each side, fleshy (Trimen).
" Flowers red-purple and white, subglobose. " Corolla l-l½in. diam., lobes subacute, incurved, white on back and margin.
Uses : — In the Concan, the roots are used as a remedy for scalding in gonorrhœa, and, beaten into a paste, are applied to the eyes in ophthalmia. In diabetes, the root rubbed to a paste is given in cold milk. In spermatorrhœa, the dried root, with an equal quantity of the root of Eriodendron anfractuosum, powdered, is given in 6 massa doses, with milk and sugar, twice daily (Dymock).
Rheede first drew attention to the medicinal virtues of the root, mentioning its value as an application for ophthalmia.
It is employed in decoction by the Santals, as a remedy for cough, and also for orchitis (Revd. A. Campbell).
778. Sarcostemma brevistigma, W. & A. h.f.b.i., iv. 26.
Syn. : — Asclepias acida, Roxb. 251.
Vern. :— Somalatá (H. and B.) ; Soma (Bomb.); Tigatshu-moodoo (Tel.) ; Thorinjal (Sind.) ; Ran slier (Mar.).
Habitat : — Deccan Peninsula ; not uncommon in dry rocky places.
A trailing, leafless, jointed shrub. Stem as thick as a goose- quill, green, joints 4-6in. long. Umbels sessile, terminal, 1-1½ in. diam., many-fid. Pedicels ½in., puberulous. Flowers pale-greenish white or whitish. Sepals small, ovate. Corolla ⅓in. diam., lobes ovate or oblong. Column very short ; corona and column together rounded or obtuse ; inner processes of the corona almost concealing the anthers. Stigma very shortly
