TAXONOMY 



401 



palmate. Leaves thin, herbaceous, much expanded, often hairy. 

 Vascular bundles of petioles, branches and stems, bicollateral. 

 Inflorescence either of loose cymes or more frequently racemes or 

 spikes or entire axillary inflorescence may become solitary axillary. 

 Flowers pentamerous, very rarely tetramerous, monoecious (Bryonia 

 alba) or dioecious (Bryonia dioica) ; sepals five, gamosepalous, adnate 

 to ovary; corolla of five, rarely four gamopetalous petals varying 

 in size and shape from small to large campanulate or broadly cup- 

 shaped (Cucumber) and in color from greenish-yellow to greenish 

 white to pure yellow to yellowish- white to white ; stamens typically 

 five, epigynous, with anthers either joined by pairs or synantherous; 

 carpels usually three; ovary inferior, one- to three-celled. Fruit a 

 pepo (a berry from an inferior ovary with thick skin). Seeds flat 

 and exalbuminous. 



Official drug Part used 



Bryonia N.F. Root 



Colocynthis 

 Pepo 



Elaterinum 



Pulp of fruit 

 Seeds 



Principle from 

 elaterium 

 Unofficial 



Watermelon Seed Seeds 

 Momordica (Bal- Fruit 

 sam apple) 



Botanical origin Habitat 



Bryonia alba 1 Europe 



Bryonia dioica j 



Citrullus Colocyn- Africa and Asia 

 this Tropics 



Cucurbita Pepo 

 (cultivated varie- 

 ties) 



Ecballium 

 Elaterium 



Mediterranean 

 region 



Citrullus vulgaris 

 Momordica 

 Balsamina 



Southern Asia 

 East Indies 



Campanulacea or Bluebell Family. Herbs of annual or more com- 

 monly perennial growth rarely sub-shrubby or sub-woody in habit, 

 frequently with laticiferous tubes containing a milky juice. Stem 

 upright or feeble and spreading. Leaves alternate, simple, exstipu- 

 late. Inflorescence primitively a racemose cyme condensing into a 

 raceme, to a sub-capitulum and ultimately to a capitulum. Flowers 

 regular, campanulate to campanulate-elongate to elongate and deeply 

 cleft in petals; sepals five, only slightly synsepalous, epigynous; petals 

 five, campanulate to campanulate- tubular to tubular elongate 

 to tubular and deeply cleft; corolla varying in color from greenish- 



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