BIXING IR. 151 
COCHLOSPERMUM GOSSYPIUM, Dc. 
Fig.—Wight in Hook. Bot. Misc. ii., 857; Suppl., t. 18.. 
Golden Silk- cotton tree (Lng.). 
FE RE ee ne Ee ee ey ee eee ee 
Hab.—Garwhal, Bundelkhund; Behar, Orissa and Deccan. 
The gum. 
Vernacular.—The tree, Pili-kapas (Hind.), Tanaku (Tam.), 
* Konda-gogu (Tel.). The gum, Katfra-i-Hindi (Pers., Hind.). 
History, Uses, &c.—This tree grows upon dry hilly | 
_ ground, where it attains a large size. The flowers. are large 
_ and ofa golden yellow colour, and appear in March and April; 
when the tree is destitute of leaves ; the capsule is the size of 
a. goose egg and filled with cotton; the seeds kidney-shaped 
. cochleate, with a hard testa. The gum is used in the Upper 
_ Materia Medica, is the true Tragacanth, and the name _ has 
_ been transferred to the gum of this tree by the Mahometan 
kc settlers in India. In Celebe the seeds are roasted and eaten; 
they are sweet and oily ; the young leaves are used to make a 
_ cooling wash for the hair. (Rumph., I, 80.) In Bombay the 
_ gum of Stereulia urens, called ‘ Karai gond’ by the Guzerathi 
_ shopkeepers, is used as country Tragacanth, and is tsa: by 
Mussalman druggists as Katira. 
; Description. —White or yellowish, generally in latge 
vermicular pieces, transversely fissured, and showing a ten- 
dency to split up into flat scales sometimes in large flat pieces 
like Tragacanth; when moistened it swells up into a bulky ~ 
transparent jelly, which may be diffused in a large quantity of 
water, but is only very sparingly soluble. Its solution i 
water is neutral; the portion insoluble in water yields t 
alkalies a thick mucilage of a pinkish colour, which, acct 
to Mitchell ae) is not precipitated by acids 
