50 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES 



leaves cleft at their base, with 5 lobules and a small gland on 

 the midrib. Petiole long with 2 stipules at the base. Flowers 

 axillary, solitary. Calyx double ; the outer portion divided in 

 3 parts, heart-shaped, and each with 5-9 long, acute teeth. 

 Corolla bell-shaped, of 5 petals, pale yellow or turning rose 

 color, purple at the base. Stamens many, inserted on a column. 

 Stigma in 4-5 parts. Ovary of 3-5 compartments. Seeds en- 

 veloped in the fiber. 



Habitat. — Batangas, Ilocos. 



Bomb ax malabaricum, DC. (B. Ceiba, Blanco.) 



Nom. Vulg. — Taglinaw, Bobuy gubat, Tag. ; Talutu, Vis. 



Uses. — In India the roots are used to obtain an astringent 

 and alterative effect and form part of a well-known aphrodisiac 

 mixture called Musla-Samul. If the trunk is incised, an astrin- 

 gent gum exudes and this they use in diarrhoea, dysentery and 

 menorrhagia. Dose of the gum 2J-3 grams. 



Botanical Description. — A large tree covered with sharp, 

 conical and tough spines. Leaves alternate, compound, digi- 

 tate, caducous ; leaflets 5-7 with long common petiole. Flow- 

 ers solitary or in axillary cymes, hermaphrodite, regular. 

 Calyx gamosepalous, cup-shaped, with 5 acute lobules. Cor- 

 olla violet, with 5 deep clefts ; aestivation convolute. Stamens 

 numerous, united at the base in 5 bundles, free above, bearing 

 unilocular anthers. Ovary of 5 many-ovulate compartments, 

 with a style ending in 5 short branches. Capsule woody, ovoid, 

 loculicidal, with 5 valves. Seeds numerous, black, covered 

 with cottony fibers. 



Habitat. — Angat, Iloilo. Blooms in February. 



Eriodendron anfractuosum, DC. (Bombax pentandrum, L.) 

 Nom. Vulg. — Boboy, Tag. ; Doldol, Vis. ; Bulak Jcartifa, 



Pam. 



Uses. — The principal use made of this plant in the Philip- 



