564 INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



" The natives of Concan, in bilious sickness, fill the patients' 

 month with sesamum oil, and apply the juice of leaves to the 

 crown of the head. This is said to cause the oil in his mouth 

 to become yellow from absorption of bile ; fresh oil is then given 

 repeatedly until it ceases to turn yellow " (Dymock). 



513. Lawsoiiia alba, Lamk.E..F.B.i.,u. 573. 



Syn. : — L. inermis, Eoxb. 325. 



Sans. : — Sakachere. 



Vern. :~Hena, Mehndi (EL) ; Marutonri, Aivanam (Tarn.); 

 Goonutachettoo (Tel.); Mailanschi, Ponta-letsche (Malay) ; Iswan 

 (Belgaum) ; (Mar.) Mendi ; Hena (Bombay). 



Habitat: — Very common throughout India. 



A glabrous, erect shrub, with rounded branches, sometimes 

 spinescent. Leaves opposite f-li in. long, elliptic, acute at 

 both ends, on the tip obtuse, minutely petioled, entire, coriaceous. 

 Flowers Jin. diam., sweet-scented, rose-coloured or white or 

 greenish white, in large corymbosely-branched terminal panicles. 

 Calyx-tube exceedingly short ; lobes 4, j n m. t ovate, permanent ; 

 petals 4, wrinkled. Stamens usually 8, inserted in pair between 

 the petals. Ovary free, 4-celled, ovules many, style long. 

 Capsule Jin. diam., globular like a pea, ultimately 1-celled, 

 irregularly breaking up ; seeds angular, on a central placenta. 

 Flower and fruit throughout the year. 



Uses : — Arabic and Persian works describe the leaves as a 

 valuable external application in headache, combined with oil, 

 so as to form a paste, to which resin is sometimes added. 

 They are applied to the soles of the feet in small-pox, and 

 are supposed to prevent the eyes being affected by the disease. 

 They also have the reputation of promoting the healthy growth 

 of the hair and nails. The bark is given in jaundice and 

 enlargement of the spleen, also in calculous affections, and as 

 an alterative in leprosy and obstinate skin diseases ; in decoc- 

 tion it is applied to burns, scalds, etc. The seeds, with honey 

 and tragacanth, are described as cephalic. An infusion of the 

 flowers is said to cure headache, and to be a good application 

 to bruises (Dymock). 



