&$& INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



Habitat :— Western Himalaya, from Kumaon to Kashmir. 



Erect, hispid, perennial herbs, tall, simple, stem l-3ft. Radi- 

 cal leaves 11 by -§in. by Jin. Cauline leaves 3 by Jin ; acute ; 

 narrow lanceolate. Spike, terminal, solitary, 12by 2-3in., usually 

 very dense. Flowers purple ; sepals l-ljin., linear. Corolla-tube 

 fin., mouth |-|in. diam. Style shortly bifid ; stigmas 2, capi- 

 tate. Nutlets iin., ovoid, suddenly acute, nearly as broad as 

 long. 



Use : — The plant is considered useful in diseases of the 

 tongue and throat (Stewart). 



827. M. perennis, Boiss. h.f.b.i., iv. 177. 



Habitat : — Alpine Western Himalaya, from the Karakorum 

 and Kashmir to Kumaon. 



Herbs, with perennial roots Stem solitary or several, undivided 

 or hirsute. Cauline leaves l-2in., sessile. Cymes CDmpoud, 3-4in. 

 diam., spikes short, many-flowered or subcapitate. Sepals i-Jin., 

 lanceolate-linear, sepals in flower, says C. B. Clarke, i-Jin. 

 patently hirsute ; in fruit sometimes nearly lin., and sublance- 

 olate. Corolla purple, tube as long as the sepals in flower, or 

 exceeding them by ^ -Jin., lobes £in., varying in breadth. Flowers 

 dimorphic, one form having J-exserted anthers and short, 2- 

 lobed stigmas, the other with included anthers between the 

 capitate stigmas. Nutlets nearly as in M. Benthami, but larger 

 (C. B. Clarke). 



Uses : — The bruised roots of this plant are applied to 

 eruptions, and, along with Onosma echioides and one or two 

 other roots, constitutes the Ruttanjot of the Punjab and the 

 North- West Himalayas. In Afghanistan, it is used to relieve 

 tooth-ache and ear-ache (Aitchison). 



828. Onosma echiodes, Linn, h.f.b.i. iv. 178. 



Vern. :— Ratanjot (H.); Newar, maharangi (Nepal) ; Ratan- 

 jot, maharanga, laljari, koame (Pb.). 



Habitat :— Kashmir and Kumaon. 



A biennial, patently hispid, herb. Stem 8-10in. Cauline 

 leaves 2| by |in. oblong. Racemes elongate, often forked, in 



