Eriocaulonee.] THE HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS. ° 409 
universally and deservedly esteemed; it is the Ketaka of Sanscrit poets, and the 
Keora and Ketgee of the Hindoos; it is known to the Arabians by the name Kazee, 
and is the Armak of Avicenna. Oil, impregnated with the odour of its flowers, 
and the distilled water, are called dohn-al-kazee and ark-keora ; both are highly esteemed 
as stimulants and antispasmodics, and as cures for head-aches, rheumatisms, &c. The 
fruit of some of the species is described ‘as being eatable, and one is figured in As. 
Res. iii. p. 161, under the name of Mellore, or Nicobar bread-fruit. Dr. Roxburgh 
specifies the lower pulpy part of the drupes of the Keora as being sometimes eaten by 
the natives of the Peninsula in times of scarcity. The seeds also are said to be eatable, 
and are occasionally employed for making rosaries. 
192. XYRIDEZ. 
Xyridee, by some botanists united with Restiacee, and by others separated into a 
distinct family, distinguished by their petaloid perianth, and polyspermous fruit, are 
found in the tropical parts of America, with a few species of Xyris in the southern 
states of North America, also in New Holland both within and beyond the Tropics. 
The Asiatic species are few in number, and found in India, chiefly in the Peninsula: 
also in Ceylon, whence Ayris indica, and pauciflora, extend into Bengal, and from 
Tavoy to Silhet ; and thence, X. pauciflora, which, according to Mr. Brown, is found 
in Tropical New Holland, extends to Nepal, where a new species, X. schenoides, also 
occurs. | 
Ayris indica, found both in the Peninsula and Bengal, is considered an easy, speedy, 
and certain cure for ringworms ( Rheede): the leaves and root are employed against 
itch and leprosy (Agardh). 
193. ERIOCAULONEZ. 
The Eriocaulonee are, like the Xyridee, sometimes treated of as a separate family, 
and sometimes united with Restiacee. Like the Xyridee, they occur in tropical Ame- 
rica, New Holland, and India, and are found in the islands of Madagascar, and Mau- 
ritius; but, like other plants of moist situations, they extend to much higher latitudes, 
being found in 44° of latitude in N. America, and also in the island of Skye, on the 
west coast of Scotland. About twenty species are found within the limits of the Indian 
Flora, chiefly in the Indian and Malayan Peninsulas, extending from the latter into 
Silhet and to Cheriponjee, on the Jentya Hills, and from that to Nepal; where are 
found Eriocailon oryzetorum, quinquangulare, and veranthemum. E. hevangulare (Leuco- 
cephala, Roxb.), extends from Ceylon and the Peninsula, also Tavoy and Silhet, as far 
north as Saharunpore, where it is found in moist situations at the end of the rainy 
season. E. Sollyanum, nob., is a new species from ‘Cashmere, and is allied to Z. luzule- 
folium, Wall. Cat. 6071, which is found on the Jentya mountains. 
194, ResTIAcez. 
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