. N. (X BOAUUIXEJK. _ Sf)d 



Habitat : — A weed common throughout tropical India. 



A procumbent, scabrous, hairy annual herb, usually quite 

 Hat. Leaves alternate, crisped, elliptic-cbovate, coarsely serrate 

 or subpinnatifid, 1-1 Jin. Mowers axillary, sessile or nearly so, 

 I'm., the upper sometimes in a leafy one-sided spike, yellow. 

 Sepals 4 narrow, very hairy Segments J ib." long, ovate acute, 

 ciliate. Corolla-tube short, lobes 4 imbricated in the bud, 

 patent. Stamens 4 on the Corolla- tube ; anthers ovate. Ovary 

 2-celled, with 2 ovules; style terminal, bifid. Drupe (nearly dry) 

 of 4, subconnate, 1-seeded pyrenes. Pyrene Jin. Testa of the 

 seed thin. Seeds albuminous ; cotyledons flat. 



Uses: — As a medicine, equal parts of the dry plant and 

 fenugreek seeds rubbed to a fine powder, and applied warm to 

 boils, quickly brings them to suppuration (Ainslie\ 



The fresh leaves ground up are applied to rheumatic swel- 

 lings (Murray). 



818. Heliotropium Eichioaldi, Steud. h.f.b.i.,. 



iv. 149. 



Syn. :— H. europeum, Benth. 



Vern. : — Nil Kattei, bithua, atwin, popat buti, gidar tamaku 

 (Ph. and II.); Chirgas (Kash.) 



Habitat : — Punjab and Scinde ; in the plains frequent. Kash- 

 mir ; Srinuggar Merwara. 



An erect herb, with a woody stem. Branches from the base 

 6-12in., softly closely hairy. Leaves §-lr,in. obtuse, ovate, lower 

 long-petioled ; clothed on both sides with bulbous- based hairs, 

 nerves not prominent on the upper surface ; petiole i-lin. 

 Flowers 2-ranked. Spikes dense, ebracteate, 2in. Calyx deci- 

 duous with the fruit, 5-parotite. Sepals x 2 in., ovate-lanceolate, 

 hairy. Corolla-tube fin., narrow, cylindric, hairy without; 

 segments round, crenulate. Style very short. Stigma with a 

 broad based conical appendage bifid at the apex, stigmatic ring 

 not conspicuous. Nutlets tV*^ glabrous, minutely verrucose. 



Part used : — The leaf. _.. 



Uses : — The plant is emetic, and also given after snake-bite, 

 and, along. with tobacco- oil, is applied. locally to the bite itself 

 (Stewart). 



