192 I*OBEST TREES. 



388 Secahione emetioa, Be. Kan. Siramge hambu. 

 A slender twiner found at Kankanhalli and else- 

 where. Dr. Bidie thinks it is of little value as an 

 emetic. The root development of this plant exceeds 

 that of the stem and leaves. 



389 Oxystelma esculentum, Be. Saws. Tikladngdha, 



Diighdika, 

 This is also a slender twiner of the plains having 

 smooth deciduous leaves. The fruit is edible, and 

 a few medicinal properties are attributed to the 

 species. Flowers white and rose-coloured with 

 purple veins. 



390 Calotropis gigantea, Be. Kan. Tekkada, Yekka. 

 Fig.—JBot Plates Lal-Bagh Collection. 

 References.— J'Z. of Brit. Ind. ; Pharm. Ind. ; 



Diet, of Econ. Prod, of Ind. 

 The Mudar or giant swallow-wort. A conspicu- 

 ous, woolly, evergreen shrub of the plains. Abund- 

 ant in waste land, by the sides of nullahs and along 

 the margins of cultivated fields, where it attains a 

 height of 4 — 7 feet. The whole plant abounds in a 

 thick milk-sap which coagulates quickly into a solid 

 body on exposure to light. This substance possesses 

 some of the properties of gutta percha, but being a 

 conductor of electricity, is unsuited for the manu- 

 facture of cables, and its chief use is in native 

 medicine. The root, milky juice, bark, and flowers, 

 are all prescribed as Indian drugs, i and the people 

 seem to attach considerable importance to the 

 medicinal properties of the whole plant. It also 

 affords two kinds of fibre, one consisting of the 

 inner bai"k, and the other of the fine hairs which 

 invest the seed. The latter is commercially knowm 

 as " Madar floss " and is worth hd a pound in the 

 London market. An attempt was made some years 

 ago to collect a quantity of this floss for consignment 



