168 ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY 



certainly not, to my taste, pleasant. Among those used in medicine, Calotropis gtgantea and 

 proceray merit prominent notice, both, in addition to some specific properties, having been ascer- 

 tained to possess in considerable vigour, those of Ipecacuana, as regards both its diaphoretic 

 and emetic qualities. Another, not less estimable, on account of the same properties, is the 

 TyJnphora (Ascleplas) asthtnatica (Willd.), of the virtues of which Roxburgh speaks in very 

 lilgh terms. I subjoin, in a note, his account of it. Hemidesmus indicus merits attention as 

 furnishing an excellent substitute for Sarsaparilla ; and Secamone emetica^ an allied genus, has 

 the credit of being an efficient emetic. Ainslie states that the roots of Gytmiema (Periploca) 

 sylvestris are bitter, and supposed to be useful in cases of snake bite ; for which they ^re pre- 

 scribed internally in form of decoction, and the powder applied to the wound- They are also said 

 to possess virtues similar In kind to Ipecacuana. These various instances tend to show the 

 great similarity of the properties, generally found in plants of this order, to those of Ipeca- 

 cuana. Several species are found useful in the arts. Gymnema tingens^ and Marsdenia tinc-^ 

 toria yield a blue dye or Indigo ; that obtained from the last is said by Roxburgh to be of 

 excellent quality. The bark of Marsdenia (Ascleplas, Roxb.) tenacissima, furnish fibres of 

 great tenacity, and are employed by the natives of Rajamalil to make bow strings. Cynan- 

 chum ovalifolium (Walk), a native of Penang, yields, according to Wallich, excellent Caou- 



ra, and probably several others. Pergularia odoratissi- 

 fragrance of its flowers, as are some species of Asdepias 



'andifl\ 



for their beauty. 



.rpn.r^ ;n\ K ^'^ ^lir"" ''^'' n'"""^'* . ^" ^^ °''^^^' embracing within its limits nearly 150 

 Son T ^ ' S irt' ^^'f ^' ^°"^^^^^^ ^«^P'« ^««P« for '•^'"ark, but it is not my in- 



1)C rPrn/w'^'' ? l'' "''' ^'^t' ^^'^ '""'' '"' ^^ ^^^^'^°« »^^«' '" his recent monograph (see 



l^O.a I'rod.), lurnished a comnrehensivfi summnrvr r>f r,-.<>„i,, „ii ^i.„a • ^ t^ -K tt. 



divides the 



15o and 155-b. They are the following : 



m 



xne }m^^^\TJlL !!-"™ "fif ' SfO, grannlose, attached to the dilated or c.culate apex of 



taken ta"" tl a::!;' '\"'-r "'' • *'''^ '/'^r '^ ■"' P^'-'"''- »-' «='•' ■»«''» ^ave heen 

 pollen of the one and the cornusileTof .^^,^1 " ""'" ^""^ Apocynacea:, havng the grannlar 



attaeledtXTl^ eSlte" anex^of t^' """'"' "."'"^i S'^''""' = l'°"™!» ^0, small, erect, 



.= ucsuj- ex^uicale apex ot the corpuscules. Twininu shrubs. 



pairstothepTc"se?5'thTfo"naS'flT'V"""'''j' """""■' 2-celled; polhnia 10, attached by 

 This is a larl ll „ ll l™^]'"'''""'"?'-^"""'"! oorpuscnies of the stigma ; pend,dom. 



attachei bjlZV\hri"^Zt"Tu!:i^"'^T^-^^^^^^ dehiscing transversely ; pollinia 10, 

 ..ne side, «,d nidnlating beneath tl^^le of Sl!"^^^^ transverse,^ usually pellncid on 



American 



There being no Indian species of this tribe, I have not introduced it into the plate. 



V» Stapelie.e. 



