362 PIA N T 



oblong 1 , sub-acute, membranous with green midrib, or the inner entirely 

 membranous. Corolla glabrous, tube ^ in. long ; lobes as long as the 

 tube, ovate, acute, concave. Capsule in. long, ovoid, subobtuse, cells 

 1-2 seeded. Seeds % in. long, boat-shaped, nearly black. Malwa (Edge- 

 worth). DISTEIB. Punjab Plain westward from the Sutlej ; also inSind, 

 extending westwards to Egypt and Greece. The seeds are sometimes 

 used.as a substitute for those of P. ovata. 



P. ovata. Forsk. Fl. JEgypt. Aral. 31 ; Duthie Field and Gard. Crops, N. W. 

 Prov. and Oudh part Hi, 53, t. 92 ; F. R 1. iv t 707 ; Watt E. D.;Coolce Fl. 

 Bomb, ii, 478. P. Ispaghula, Eoxb. Fl. Ind. i, 404; Eoyle IV. 312. Vern. 



i Ispaghul, isafgol.A softly hairy annual, stemless or nearly so. Leaves 

 linear or filiform, finely acuminate. Spikes \-\% in. long, ovoid or 

 cylindric. Sepals elliptic, obtuse. Corolla-lobes rounded, apiculate. 

 Capsule 2 seeded. Seeds light-brown. This plant is cultivated in some 

 of the western districts of the area for the sake of the seeds, which 

 yield, when boiled, a large amount of tasteless mucilage. This latter is 

 much used by the natives as a remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery. The 

 plant grows wild in the Punjab Plain and on low hills from the Sutlej 

 westwards, extending to Persia, Spain and the Canary Islands. 



