410 INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



remedy for toothache and aphthae. The whole plant, rubbed 

 up with butter, is applied to reduce ©edematous tumors. A 

 preparation is made from the ashes of the burnt plant to re- 

 move dandruff from the hair. The leaves are applied to ab- 

 scesses ; and an oil is obtained from the root which is used to 

 anoint the head in erysipelas (Ainslie and Rheede). 



354. I, trifoliate, Linn., h.f.b.l, ii. 96. 



Syn.:—I. prostrata, Willd., Roxb, 583. 

 Vern. : — The seeds — Wekaria (Bomb.). 

 Habitat : — From the Himalayas throughout India. 

 Use : — The seeds are prescribed along with other mucila- 

 ginous drugs as a restorative (Dymock). 



355. I. paucifolia Delile., h.f.b.l, ii. 97, Roxb. 



583. 



Vern : — Kuttukkarchammathi (Tarn.). 



Habitat : — The plains of Sind and the upper Gangetic basin. 



A shrub, reaching 4-6ft., with copious woody branches 

 which, along with the sub-coriaceous leaves, are argento-canes- 

 cent. Leaflets 3-5, alternate, firm, oblanceolate oblong, J-l in. 

 long, sometimes solitary on the branches ; petiole short, but 

 distinct. Racemes short-peduncled, 20-50-flowered, reaching 

 3-4 in. long. Calyx silvery i% in.; teeth lanceolate, cuspidate, 

 as long as the tube. Corolla red, 3-4-times the Calyx, thinly 

 silvery externally. Pod J-| in. long, glaucous, distinctly toru- 

 lose, 6-8-seeded, recurved. 



Parts used : — The root and stem. 



Uses : — It is considered an antidote to poisons of all kinds. 

 The root boiled in milk is used as a purgative, and a decoction 

 of the stem as a gargle in mercurial salivation (Watt.) 



356. I. tinctoria, Linn, h.f.b.l, ii. 99, Roxb. 585. 



Sans. : — Nila. 



Vern. :— Nil (H. B.) ; Averi (Tarn.) ; Ameri (Malay.) ; Neelie 

 (Tel.); Nil guli (Bomb.); Jil, nil (Sind.). 

 Eng. : — Common indigo. 



Habitat :— Cultivated throughout India, for Indigo. 

 This is the universally cultivated Indigo. 



