150 POLYGON ACEJE. 



n 



branched, round^ striated, leafy at the numerous knots or joints. 

 Leaves alternate, stalked, hardly an inch long, elliptic or 

 lanceolate, entire, obtuse, single-ribbed, smooth except at the 

 margin, tapering at the base^ very variable in width, substance 

 rather coriaceous, colour greyish or glaucous. Flowers variegated 



and green. Seeds acutely triangular, of a 



crmison 



shining black. 



Polygonum Bistorta, Linn., is the Anjuhar of the 

 Western Arabs, and their description of it is still reproduced m 

 Indian medical works. P. viviparum, Linn., a nearly 

 allied species, is used as a substitute for it in the Punjab, under 

 the same Arabic name, and is called in the vernacular Maslun and 

 Bilauri. The Anj ubaf-i-Rumi of the bazars, imported from 

 Persia, is a thick reddish-brown astringent root-bark, evidently 

 obtained from a tree or shrub of some size, and it may be 

 observed that Aitchison found an arboreous species of Polygonum 

 growing in the Badghis and Paropamisus. 



Other species of Polygonum which have been used medicin- 

 ally, and which occur in India, are ; 



P. glabrum, Willd., p. Hydropiper, Linn., P.molle, 



Bon., P. barbatum,imw., and P. alatum, Ham. AH these 

 plants are astringent, but P. Eydropijper also contains a pungent 

 volatile principle having acrid properties. 



Chemical composition.— Dr. C. J. Rademaker {Amer. Jotirn- 

 Pharm., Nov. 1879) separated from P. Bydropifer a crystalline 

 principle which he named Pohjgonic acid. H. Trimble and 

 H. J. Schuchard {Amer. Journ. Pharm., Jan. 1885) re-examine*^ 

 the plant with the foUowing results :— They found that the 

 pecuHar pungent principle, although present in a \^eak 

 alcohoKc tincture, disappeared on distillation, the pungent 

 taste of the herb being absent both from the distillate and the 

 residue m the retort. 



From these experiments they conclude that the active prin- 

 ciple IS decomposed on the sUghtest heating, and that the only 



