13J8 INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



Habitat. :— Behar, Bengal and Travancore. 



A rather much-branched, leafy shrub, black or brown when 

 dry. Branches often very slender, terete or angled and grooved, 

 opposite and whorled ; branchlets angular. Leaves rarely 

 more than one inch, often unequal, petioled ; from obovate to 

 elliptic-oblong and linear-oblong, obtuse, 3-5-nerved, base 

 narrowed, or rounded. Flowers minute, under T ^in. long, 

 rarely more than 5, in sessile or peduncled clusters, monoeious. 

 Perianth usually 3-cleft, Perianth-lobes deciduous. Fruit of 

 the size of a pea, smooth (Kurz), " purple," copiously minutely 

 dotted (W. and A). 



Use. — In Chutia Nagpur, this plant is largely used medicin- 

 ally, and is believed to derive some particular property from 

 the tree on which it is found. It is employed in as many differ- 

 ent diseases as the trees on which it is found. (Campbell.) 



1109. V. articulatum, Burm., h.f b.i., V. 226. 



Vern.i — Pan, pudu (H.) ; Katkom janga Santal) ; Hurchu 

 (Nepal j ; Patha (Banda) ; Banda (C. P.) ; Harmore (ThanaL 



Habitat: — Sub-tropical Himalaya, from Chamba to Sikkim, 

 also Assam, Mishmi, Khasia mountains, southwards to Travan- 

 core. 



A much-branched, leafless, green parasitic shrub, forming 

 pendulous tufts Gin. to 3ft. long ; greenish-yellow when dry. 

 Main stem terete. Branches flat, longitudinally striate, and 

 furrowed, contracted at the nodes, internodes, widening up- 

 wards, l-2in. long. Flowers sessile, in sessile, 3-flowered spikes ; 

 two or several spikes at a joint. Perianlh of male flowers 

 reflexed. Female flowers 2-bracteolate, the perianth-lobes erect, 

 triangular. Fruit sub-globose, |in. long, yellow when ripe, 

 sessile, in clusters of 4-5 at the nodes, each fruit supported 

 by a shallow cup-shaped bract. Found on Cordia vestita, Cor- 

 nus capitata, Pyrus, albizzia stipulate, Albizzia amara (Maha- 

 bleshwar, Pratapgad Road). 



Uses:— In Chutia Nagpur, a preparation xrom the plant is 

 given in fever attended with aching limbs. The many joints 

 in the plant have probably influenced the Santal ojhas in their 



