826 INDTAN MEDIGINAL PLANTS. 



Habitat : — South Nepal ; at Sukanagur ; South Concan and 

 the Bababoodan hills. 



Twining perennial herbs. Stems several from the root, 

 erect 12-18in., nearly simple, flexuous or climbing amongst grass, 

 pubescent. Branches glabrous below, finely puberulous above. 

 Leaves small, 1-1 |in., rather crowded, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, 

 rounded or acute at base, acute, glabrous above, pubescent on 

 veins beneath, coriaceous. J. D. Hooker says, " leaves 1-2 by 

 f-ljin." Petiole Jin., slender, pubescent. Flowers small, on 

 rather long, slender, pubescent pedicels. Cymes racemose, shorter 

 than leaves, shortly stalked, erect ; bracts filiform. Sepals linear- 

 lanceolate, acute, coronal processes globose. Follicles fusiform, 

 short, turgid. " 1J-2 by J-f in., ovoid-lanceolate ; paricarp very 

 thick, glabrous. Seeds Jin. long, broadly ovoid, quite flat." 

 " Pollen-masses horizontal, according to Wight, but "I think 

 erect," says J. D. Hooker. 



Uses : — In the Southern Concan, it is used as a poison for 

 rats and other vermin. Dr. Lyon records a case in which it 

 proved fatal to a man (1879). As this plant has very active 

 properties, its physiological effects should be investigated 

 (Dymock). 



The juice of the root is given with milk as a tonic ; the 

 leaves are pounded and used as an application to unhealthy 

 ulcers and wounds to induce healthy granulation (Pharmacogra- 

 phialndica, Vol. IT. p. 441. 



The leaves were very mucilaginous when treated with water, and even the 

 alcoholic extract when evaporated to dryness made a thick solution with a 

 large quantity of water. The latter solution was precipitated by alkaloidal 

 reagents and was most acrid to the taste. Shaken with ether a resinous body 

 was removed, and then made alkaline with ammonia, which produced a slight 

 precipitate, and again shaken with ether, a small quantity of an amorphous 

 alkaloid was separated, which gave a yellowish brown colour with sulphuric 

 acid, passing to a red. The leaves gave off slightly alkaline fumes when 

 ignited, and left 12 per cent, of ash. 



The roots reduced to fine powder were made into a tincture with strong 

 spirit, and the evaporated tincture when treated with water left some resi- 

 nous matter undissolved. The solution shaken with ether yielded up some 

 more resinous substance which became encrusted with feathery crystals when 

 the solvent had been dissipated. A larger quantity of alkaloid was present 



