74 INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS, 



karavah (Pushkara-named), Abja (born from water), Ambhoruha 

 (born from water), Padma (A lotus), Pundarika (A lotus), 

 Pankaja (born from mud), Nala (Lotus), Nalina (Lotus), Arvinda 

 (Lotus), Mahotpala (great lotus\ 



Verii.: — Kanwal (H.) (Kumaon), Padma (B.) ; Padam 

 (Uriya) ; Besenda, Pabbin (N.-W. P.) ; Pamposh ; Kanwal Kakri 

 and bhe or phe (root), gatte (Seed) (Pb.) ; Pabban (plant), bhe 

 root, Paduro (Seeds), Nilofar (drug) (Sind) ; Kungwelka-gudda 

 (Dec.); Kamala-Kankadi (Bomb.); Tavarigadde ; tavaribija 

 (Kan.) ; Paud-Kanda (Poona) ; Shivapdutamara-ver, ambal 

 (Tarn.); Erra-tamara veru (Tel.); Tamara (Malay.;. Tamarai 

 (Tarn.) Ceylon ; Nelun (Sinhalese). 



Habitat: — Throughout India, extending as far to the N. W.P. 

 as Cashmir. Abundant in Bombay, Thana district, Ceylon, 

 Persia, China, Japan, Malay Islands, Tropical Australia. 



An erect, large herb of still waters, extensively creeping. Root- 

 stock stout, creeping. Leaves raised several feet high above 

 water ; peltate, 2-3 ft. diam., membranous glaucous, cupped. 

 Flowers magnificent, rose-red or white, sweet-scented, 4-10 

 in. diam. Peduncles and petioles 3-6 ft. high, full of spiral 

 vessels, with stumpy, scattered prickles. Sepals 4-5, inserted 

 on the top of the scape, caducous. Petals and stamens 

 many, hypogynous, many-seriate, caducous, elliptic, con- 

 cave, veined. Anthers adnate, w T ith a clubbed appendage, 

 produced beyond the anther-cells. Ovaries many, 1 -celled, 

 loose, sunk in a flat top of an obconic, spongy torus (not 

 fleshy torus). The torus or receptacle 3-4 in. high, flat 

 at top, 2-4 in. wide. Style short, exserted ; stigma capi- 

 tate. Ripe carpel, seed-like, \ in. long, ovoid, glabrous. This 

 is fruit and seed at one and the same time ; edible. Pericarp 

 black, bony, smooth. Albumen absent, cotyledons fleshy, thick, 

 enclosing the large green folded plumule. Testa spongy 

 brown. 



Hermann gives Nelumbo as the Singhalese name (Trimen). 



In Sanskrit, the white variety is called Pundarik ; the pink is 

 called Kokonad, and the blue variety is called Indivara. 1 have 

 never come across this third blue variety in the Konkan or the 



