510 XYRIDEJE, 



contain mucli mucilage and starch are used on account of 

 their demulcent properties, and are eaten in times of scarcity. 

 G. communis is said by Loureiro to be refrigerant and laxative^ 

 and to be useful in strangury and costiveness. 



Tradescantia axillaris^ WiikLy Rheede, Ilort Mai. x.^ 



t^ 13. A very similar plant, and often called by the same 



vernacular names, has similar properties, and its seeds have 



frequently proved to be a valuable resource in times of famine. 



Ainslie notices it under the Tamil name of Nirpulli [Mat. Ind.y 

 ii., 250). 



Lyon found the seeds to have the following percentage com- 

 position :— Water 10-26, fat 0-62, albuminoids 15-99, carbo- 

 hydrates 5479, cellulose 9'36, ash 8*89. The nitrogen was 

 estimated at l]-28 grains per oz,, and the nutritive carbon at 

 145 '80 per oz. He calculates the nutritive value of the seeds 

 as compared with the average cereal at lOO'OO to be 85-76. 



XYRIDE^. 



XYRIS INDICA, Linn. 



Fig. — Rhecde, Hort. Mai. ix., f.71, 



Hab. — Salt marslies in Bengal, S. Concan, and Coromanclcl. 

 The herb. 



Vernacular. — Dadmari {Himl)^ China-ghauza, Dabi-duba 

 {Beng,)y Kochilitti-pullu (^a;)^.), Kochilachi-pulla {MaL). 



History, Uses, &C. — Xjvh {^vpls) is a name given 



by Dioscorides (iv., 24) to a species of Iris, which has been 

 identified with /(Bfidissima, Linn. PKny (21, 83) speaks of the 

 same plant as the wild Iris called by some Xyris ; it appears to 

 have been applied locally to disperse scrofulous swellings and to 

 promote the healing of sores, and given internally as a diuretic 

 and alterative. Linneus transferred the name to a genus of 

 flag'like plants growing in the East and West Indies. 

 X. indica does not appear to be mentioned in any of the standard 

 native medical works, but Rhecde notices its use in Malabar in 



