n. o. hydrophyllace.Ij:. 855 



substituted. The dried plant appears also to be used for the 

 same purposes (Ph. Ind.). 



This and other species of Ophelia are common throughout 

 the Himalaya, and several others occur in the mountains 

 of the Madras Peninsula. They all possess strong bittter 

 properties, and may, therefore, where they are iudigneous, 

 be substituted for the officinal Chiretta, which is rare to the 

 west of Nepal, and is not found in Central or Southren India. 



807. Menyanthes trifoliata, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 

 130. 



Habitat : — Western Himalaya ; Kashmir. 



Perennial herbs. Stems covered by lax sheathing petioles ; 

 the lower leafless. Leaves alternate, 3-foliate, leaflets elliptic or 

 oblong-obtuse, entire or obscurely wavy, subsessile 2 by 1 in. 

 Petioles 3-8in. Peduncle 3-6in. . Raceme l-6in. Pedicels j--|in. 

 Flowers white or bluish. Sepals £in. Corolla |-Jin. Style Jin. 

 Capsule i-|in., sometimes bifid nearly to the base. Seeds j^in. 



Use : — The leaves, the Buckbean or Boybean, are considered 



a valuable tonic and reckoned as one of the best of gentians. 



On the entire plant being extracted with boiling alcohol, a glucoside, 

 ineliatin, O l5 H 22 9 was isolated from the extract. The yield was about 30 

 grins, from 23 kilos of the plant. It has a bitter taste which becomes stronger 

 after a short time. It melts at 223° C. on the Maquenne block, and at 222"C in 

 a capillary tube. The optical rotation in aqueous solution is [a]o=— 81-96°. 

 It has no reducing action upon Fehling's Solution, and when hydrohysed by 

 emulsion, dextrose is produced.— [M. Bride], Comptes rend, 1911, abstracted 

 in J. Ch. I., July 15, 1911, p. 429]. 



N. 0. HYDROPHYLLACEiE. 



808. Hydrolea zeylanica, Vahl. h.f.b.i., iv. 

 133 ; Eoxb. 265. 



Sans : — Langali. 



Vera. : — Kasschara, isha-langulya (B.) ; Tsjeru-vallel (Malay). 

 Habitat : — Throughout India, in wet places. 

 An annual, unarmed herb. Stem 6-18in., usually decumbent 

 and rooting at nodes below, glabrous, rather succulent, with short 



