227 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. VIII. 
way I can account for the statements of DeCandolle and Roxburgh. | 
The down on the petioles is distinctly of a crimson or coppery tint. 
Roxburgh further observes that “ the Natives do not use any part 
of the fruit of Terminalia bellerica in medicine.” This remark 
appears to be based on scanty information. As a matter of fact, 
Beheda is one of the commonest articles used not only by learned 
Himdu Vaidyas and native practitioners of all sorts, but also as an 
ordinary domestic remedy. It is well known to the natives that 
Triphala is a panacea for all kinds of ailments, 
_ Lriphalé is a combination of three fruits, wz. :— 
firdé—Terminalia chebula, 
Beheda— Terminalia bellerica, 
Awalé—Phyllanthus emblica, 
vide p. 44, Ark-Prakash, vol. 3, Nighanta Ratnakar. 
These are pounded together, and used in the shape of a powder, 
decoction, or cold infusion, They are valuable for the large quantity 
of tannin they contain. They are valuable as astringents when given 
in combination, The mixture, however, acts as a laxative in children, 
It is generally known to give tone to the intestinal canal. It must be 
remembered that the part of the fruits used medicinally is the rind, not 
the pulp, as is wrongly said, for there is no pulp strictly so-called on any 
of these nuts covering the hard kernel. The kernel of the nut is never 
used medicinally. It is eaten for its sweet taste, sometimes in large 
quantities, as many as twenty-five being swallowed at a time without 
harm. I have heard from several reliable sources that the kernel is 
harmless. From other sources equally reliable I hear that if the 
kernel is eaten in large quantities it acts as an intoxicant. But of 
this more hereafter. Brandis says that the fruit of Behedd is a 
favourite food of monkeys, deer, sheep, goats and cattle. The taste of 
the rind of the fruit is astringent. The taste of the kernel is like that 
of its congener Baddm (Terminalia catappa). There is no evidence 
of the kernel of TT. catappa ever having produced  intoxi- 
cation, eat what quantity of it you like. It is the tannin in the 
rind of the fruit that gives Behedd its commercial value in common 
with its congener the Hirdd, as an important ingredient, largely used 
in and out of India for dyeing cloth and leather and for tanning. 
Beheda is also known in the Konkan by the name of Yelyé. 
