STERCULIACEE, 233 
_ the Hindu Materia Medica. Value, Rs. 3} per Surat maund ; 
~ of 874 lbs. , 
Pterospermum suberifolium, Lam. JIl., t. 576, 
f. IL, Muchkand (Hind.), bears white fragrant flowers, which 
rubbed into-a paste with kéngika (rice vinegar) are an - 
ancient and well known Hindu remedy for hemicrania. The 
Sanskrit name of the plant is- Muchukunda, which appears to 
_ be derived from ¥¥, Greek puece, Latin mungo, whence mucus, 
and gz a sweet-smelling flower. ‘The flowers render water 
gelatinous. : 
'P. acerifolium, another species, is called in Sanskrit 
- Karnikéra, in Hindi Kanidr and Katha-champa, and in Ben- 
gali Kanakchampa. In Sikkim it is known as Hathipaila, 
and the hill people use the white tomentum from the under 
surface of the leaf to stop bleeding. “In the Concan the 
- flowers and bark of these trees are charred and mixed with 
Kamala, and applied in suppurating small-pox. Karnikara is 
- mentioned by Kéliddsa as “a flame of the woods.” .The tree — 
2 “he alludes to is evidently Cassia Fistula, which also bears this 
% name in Sanskrit. vee 
% : be 
ABROMA AUGUSTA, Lam. © 
Fig.—tZam. Ill., t. 636 and 637. Devil’s Cotton (Hng.). 
- Hab.—iIndia and the East. Native or cultivated. The 
root. oes . 
Vernacular —Ulat-kambal (Beng-), Olak-tambol (Bomb.). 
History, Uses, &c.—This shrub has long been known as 
p-267). In 1872, Mr. Bhoobun Mohun Sircar (Ind. Med. Gaz) 
7 in Bengal, and recommended the fresh viscid sap in the treat- 
2 ment of dysmenorrhcea in doses of 30 grains. Sua ser 
’ Dr. Kirton recommended the_use of drachm doses of the ro 
30 i a . : : . : : ee ae * p DB Ge 
_ aplant yielding a valuable fibre (Royle’s Fibrous Plants of India, _ 
 first-called attention to the use of the root as an emmenagogue — o 
