4^^ Lieut. -Col. Madden 07i some Plants 



Dr. Royle (J. A. S. B. October 1832) got the root (No. 49) from 

 Amritsir. Its properties seem to be unknown; he describes it 

 as having a pure bitter taste*. 



The Bishuia of Dr. Hamilton is expressly stated to be a bitter, 

 which precludes the idea of its being Aconitum feroXy of which 

 the taste is sweet ; and Colonel Kirkpatrick, in his ' Account of 

 Nepal/ p. 182, wo/e, long since supposed it might be a kind of 

 Gentian. Dr. Royle conjectures that it may be Aconitum hetero- 

 phyllum (excellently figured, ^ lUustr.^ t. 13), the root of which, 

 called Atis, Patis, and ^lahaushadham, * the great drug/ is in 

 much estimation for its medicinal qualities. Atis is a vernacular 

 corruption of the Sanscrit Ativisha, 'overcoming poison, — 

 antidote,' (erroneously rendered summum venenum by Wallich,) 

 with the synonyms Upavish, ^ reverse of poison,' and Prativisha, 

 'against poison, an antidote'f; the last is the origin of the 

 vernacular Patis. This plant, however, is not quoted as indige- 

 nous to the east of Kumaon ; and we may therefore substitute 

 Gentiana Kurroo, Royle, which is much used in the N.W. 

 mountains, or Aconitum multifidum, a very abundant species in 

 the alpine Himalaya, "planta A, Anthorce affinis/' Royle; of this 

 or A. dissectum, Colonel Munro states (Hooker and Thomson's 

 n. Indica, p. 58) that " the roots are eaten in Kunawar as a 

 pleasant tonic." Dr. Royle's A. multifidum is from that district. 

 A. Lycoctonum {l{Bve, Royle) is as common in the Himalaya as ia 

 Alpine Europe; and its roots, which are, I believe, harmless, 

 may also be so employed J. 



* Dr. Royle distinguishes this Amritsiv and Busehar drug from the 

 common sort : according to him it is fusiform, externally black, somewhat 

 flattened and wrinkled, and in some respects resembling the Bikh itself, 

 with a slight degree of bitterness and acrimony (Illustr. p. 49). This would 

 agree well with the roots of Wallich's fig. of Aconitum ferox {A. dissectum), 

 and with Colonel Munro's fact of a Kunawar species being used as a tonic. 

 It appears, on the authority of Linnajus, that in certain cold climates the 

 root of A. Napellus is eaten with impunity. 



t It is the Jadwar or Zedoary of the Arabs and Persians. " Ideoque 

 dixit Avicenna nihil esse ea prtestantius ad ebibitura Napellum" (Royle, 

 Illustr. 60). In all probability this is purely an imaginaiy virtue. 



X Griffith (Journals of Travels, ix. 37, 67) says, " I hope before my re- 

 turn to have seen Coptis Teeta in flower, and to have proved that the Beese 

 is different from that of Nepal." The Coptis, called Mishimi Tita, or 

 Bitter, from being indigenous to the Mishimi Mountains, a branch of the 

 Himalaya, bounding Assam to the east, is, like the best Chiretta, of a 

 yellow colour, " a pure intense bitter of some permanence, but without 

 aroma." He calls it a " valuable drug." It may be one of the Bikhmas. 

 In Hindustani, Bikhman is explained by Shakespeare, " name of a medi- 

 cine or poison," perhaps from the Sanscr. vishama, uneven. Bee or Bih is 

 merely the Assamese form of Bish : thus we have Koni-bih (Croton Tiglium), 

 Naga-bih {Gordonia integrifolia). Mr. Griffith (J. A. Soc. Beng. 1837, 

 331-335) mentions " the celebrated poison, Bee," of the Ranimcidaceoe (and 



