168 INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



Habitat: — North-West Provinces, Kumaon, Sindh and the 

 Deccan. 



A spreading herb, much branched, sparingly villous. 

 Leaves suborbicular, lobed, crenate ; petiole 6-7 in. Peduncles 

 H in., deflexed after flowering. Bracteoles lanceolate, half the 

 length of the broadly lance-shaped sepals. Corolla 1 in. 

 diam. Petals wedge-shaped, notched, twice the length of the 

 sepals ; claw of petal bearded. Ripe carpels downy, flat or 

 wrinkled. 



Parts used : —The leaves and seed. 



Use : — -The leaves are mucilaginous and emollient, em- 

 ployed externally in scurvy, and reckoned useful in piles 



(HONNIGBERGER.) 



The seeds possess demulcent properties ; they are pres- 

 cribed in bronchitis, cough, inflammation o- r the bladder, and 

 haemorrhoids ; the seeds are also externally applied in skin 

 diseases (Watt). 



147. M. parviflora, L'nn., h.f.b.i., i. 321. 



Vern. : — Nan*, panirak, supra, sonchol, gogi sag(H. & Pb.) 

 II abitat :— North- West Himalaya, Upper Bengal, Sindh, 

 and the Punjab. 



A comparatively small, spreading herb, slightly downy. 

 Leaves roundish, obsoletely lobed. Peduncles short, spreading 

 after flowering. Bracts linear. Sepals broad, acute. Petals 

 notched, scarcely exceeding the sepals. Claw of petals 

 glabrous. Carpels wrinkled. 



Parts used : — The seeds and root. 



Use : — The seeds are used as a demulcent in coughs, and 

 ulcers in the bladder (Watt). 



148. Sida humilis, Willd., h.f.b.i., i. 322. 

 Roxb. 516. 



* Sida veronicifolia, Lamk, is, according to Schuma, the 

 oldest name for S. humilis (Trimen). 



Sanskrit : — Bhumibala ; 



