ORCEIDEM 393 



fruit. On-e native physician ^yhom I consulted, pronounced 

 both of these plants to be rasna ; when, however, I showed him 

 the different flowers and fruit of the two species, he was 

 puzzled." The description of the properties and uses of rasna 

 will, we think, convince our readers that the original drug was 

 not what is now used, 



Kasna is said to be bitter and fragrant, and useful in rheuma- 

 tism ; the Rasnapanchaka is a decoction of rasna; Tino&pora 

 eordlfoUa, wood of Cedrus Dcodara, Ginger, and root of Ricinus 

 communis, of eacTi equal parts; it is a popular prescription 

 for rheumatism. Eusna guggula is a ghrlta composed of eight 

 parts of rasna and ten of bdellium beaten into a uniform mass 

 with clarified butter ; it is given in drachm doses in sciatica. 

 llcisna is also an ingredient of several oils used for external 

 application in rheumatism and neuralgia, such as Malum asha 

 taila, Madhjjama Narayana taila, -8^0. Vanda is a general name 

 in Sanskrit and the vernaculars for parasitic plants ; other 

 ♦Sanskrit names for these plants are Vrikshddaniand Vrlksharuha 

 " growing on trees." They arc further distinguished by the 

 addition of the names of the tree on which they grow, thus 

 Amara-vanda y^owlA. signify the Vanda of the Amara or mango. 



Description. — V. A'oa;i«rf//«V.— Stem climbing, 1 — 2 feet ; 



leaves 6 to 8 inches long, prmmorse, narrow, complicate ; 

 peduncle 6 to 8 inches, 6 to 10 -fid ; sepals and petals yellowish- 

 green or bluish, except from the clathrate-brown nerves, 

 margins white, lip half as long as the sepals or more, disk 

 of mid-lobe convex with fleshy ridges and white margins and 

 mesial lines, spur conical. 



8. 2m}yiUomm.—fiievL\ climbing, 2 to 3 feet ; leaves 3 to 4 

 inches long, obliquely notched, narrow, complicate ; scape ] to 2 

 inches, closely scarred at the base, intcrnodes closCj bracts serai- 

 circular ; flowers f of an inch in diameter, mid-lobe of lip ovate, 

 spur conical, pubescent within, petals yellow marked with red 

 lines, lip white. 



In the Concan S. Wightianum^ Hook, f., Rheede, Ilovt. MmL 

 xii., t. 4, and S. pramonmn, Hook. f. E/icede, Ilort. 



Mai 



I1I.-50 



