N. 0. ROTAOEJE. 261 



Habitat : — Dry hills in various parts of India, N.W. Hima- 

 laya ; in Simla an:l Kumaori ascending 4,000 ft. Monghyr hills 

 in Behar ; Assam ; Western Peninsula, from the Bombay 

 Ghats and Goromandel, southward. Yunan, J. Anderson. 



A spinous, glabrous shrub or small tree, with rigid flexuous, 

 woody branches, spines J-lin. Leaves pinnate, l-4in. long ; 

 leaflets petiole and rachis jointed, the former narrowly, the 

 latter broadly winged. Leaflets 2-4 pair, sessile, opposite, obtuse, 

 crenulate, l~2in., trapezoid-ovate, obtuse and notched at the tip, 

 base cuneate, margins crenulate, nerves slender, reticulate. 

 Racemes subumbellate, lin. long, pubescent, often leafy ; pedi- 

 cels slender. Flowers tetramerous, ^in. diam., white, fragrant. 

 Sepals small. Petals elliptic or oblong. Disk annular or 

 columnar. Ovary 4-celied, cells 1-ovuled. Ovule pendulous in 

 each cell. Berry globose, fin. diam., 1-4-seeded, very acid. 



Parts used : — The leaves, root and fruit. 



Uses : — The leaves are supposed to be a remedy for epilepsy ; 

 the root is purgative, sudorific, and employed for the cure of 

 colic and cardialgia. The dried fruit is tonic, diminishes in- 

 testinal fermentation, has the power of resisting the contagion 

 of small-pox, malignant and pestilent fevers, and is also con- 

 sidered an excellent antidote to various poisons, on which ac- 

 count it is much sought for, and forms an article of commerce 

 with Arab and other merchants." (Rheede). 



Lisboa states that the berry is much used as a tonic in Mala- 

 bar, and that its red-coloured mucilage is considered to be an 

 antidote against snake-bite and the poisons of other venomous 

 animals. 



233. Luvanga scandens, Ham H. f. b. l, i. 509. 



Sansh. ; — Lavanga-lata. 



Habitat : — Eastern Bengal, Assam, the Khasia Mountains. 



A strong, climbing, annual, glabrous shrub, with woody flex- 

 uous branches and strong axillary recurved spines. Leaves 

 very variable, 3-foliate, thickly coriaceous ; petioles 2-5in., stout 



