N. O. S0LANA0E.E. 907 



obtuse, ovate-lanceolate or oblanceolate, attenuate at base ; petiole 

 indistinct, or £-§-in. long. Flowers polygamo, dioecious. Flower- 

 ing Calyx I'm. ; in fruit fin., stellate, nearly leathery, closely 

 surrounding the berry. Corolla Jin., lurid yellow, stellately 

 mealy without. Male flower ; filaments linear, anthers subexserf. 

 Ovary ellipsoid, style 0. Hermaphrodite flowers ;— - anthers sub- 

 sessile, perfect near the base of the Corolla tube. Ovary 

 globose ; style linear, stigma level with mouth of the tube. 

 Berry and seeds nearly as in W. somnifera. This plant has 

 been found in the act of passing from dimorphism to dioecism 

 (C. B. Clarke) 



Uses : — The ripe fruits are used as an emetic. The dried 

 fruits, sold as Punir-ja-fota in Sind, are employed in dyspepsia 

 and flatulent colic, and other intestinal affections. They are 

 prescribed in infusion, either alone or conjoined with the leaves 

 and twigs of Rhazya striata, D., an excellent bitter tonic. The 

 dried fruit is used for coagulating milk in the process of cheese 

 manufacture (Ph. IndA 



The ripe fruits are supposed to possess anodyne or sedative 

 properties. Honnigberger says that the bitter leaves are given 

 as a febrifuge by the Luhanees (Stewart). 



It is alterative, diuretic and believed to be useful in chronic 

 liver complaints (Dymock). 



In Bombay it is usually confounded with the fruit of 

 Physalis Alkekengi, Wild., imported from Persia, the Hab-el- 

 kdkuaj or Kaknaj of the Arabians, which is described by Ibn 

 Sina as an alterative similar to Dulcamara, and especially 

 useful in skin diseases. The berries of both plants have a 

 reputation as blood purifiers. Recently, from experiments 

 made by Sir J. D. Hooker at Kew, it has been ascertained 

 that 1 oz. of the fruit of Withania coagulans and 1 quart of 

 boiling water make a decoction, one tablespoonful of which 

 will coagulate a gallon of warm milk in about half an hour. 

 Experiments of a similar nature have been made on the 

 Kilkerran Estate, the property of Sir James Fergusson, late 

 Governor of Bombay ; four ounces of the fruit were allowed 

 to simmer for 12 hours in 1| pint of water, and half the liquid 



