N. 0. MALVACEAE. 18 



166. FL Abelmoschus, Linn, h.f.b.i., i. 342. 

 Rosb. 526. 



Syn. : — Abelmoschus moschatus, Moench. 



Sans. : — Lata-kasturika, 



Arab. : — Hab-ul-mishk. 



Vern. : — Kasture, kala-kasturi (B) ; Mushk-dana (H) ; kas- 

 turu-benda ''Dec) ; kattuk-kasturi (Tarn) ; karpura-benda, (Tel) ; 

 kasturi-bhenda (Mar) ; kapu kimissa (Singh.) 



Habitat : —Throughout the hotter parts of India ; most low 

 country Ceylon. Found wild, says Trimen, or much cultivated in 

 tropical countries. 



An annual hispid, herbaceous plant, with long deflexed hair, 

 tall, 2-3 ft. high. Leaves polymorphous, ovate-cordate or more 

 usually palmately cut into 3-5 acute lobes, dentate-serrate, hairy 

 on both sides ; petiole usually longer than leaves, with long 

 deflexed hairs. Stipules small, subulate. Flowers large, 3-4 in., 

 solitary, often appearing to be terminal, bright yellow, with a 

 purple centre. Pedicels stout, curved, much thickened beneath 

 the flower. Bracteoles 8, distinct, linear, hispid, much shorter 

 than Calyx. Sepals completely connate, save at their point into 

 a tube which splits down one side. Capsule 2^-3 in., ovate- 

 ovoid, acute, hispid ; seeds kidney-bean-shaped, striate. 



Parts used : — The seeds, root and leaves. 



Uses ; — The Hindus regard the seeds as cooling, tonic and 

 carminative. 



The Arabic and Persian writers consider them to have sto- 

 machic and tonic properties. The author of the Makhzan-ul- 

 Adwia recommends a mucilage prepared from the roots and 

 leaves of the plant in gonorrhosa. In Bombay, the seeds are 

 rubbed to a paste with milk, and used to cure itch (Dymock). 



In the West Indies, the seeds are given in the cure of snake- 

 bite, being administered both internally and externally (Watt). 

 The late Dr. Moodeen Sheriff used a tincture of the seeds and 

 considered it stimulant, stomachic and anti-spasmodic, and 

 recommended its exhibition in cases of nervous debility, hysteria, 

 and a tonic for dyspepsia. 



