X. 0. PArAVEKAOK/E. 83 
Potassium nitrate was identified among the salts naturally existing in 
the plant. J. 8. Ch. I. April 31, 1902, p. 560. 
Some crushed seeds were steam-distilled by K. Bhaduri of Calcutta. The 
distillate had a slight opalescence and a very pungent odour, but no oil came 
over. Extraction of the crushed seeds with petroleum-ether gave 22'8% 
of a pale greenish yellow oil with a green fluorescence. The oil obtained by 
pressing the crushed seeds was deep. brown, mild odour, tasteless, d, 8 0 9117, 
d l00 0'9007, n d . 48°84, sapon. no. 185'5, acetyl no. .27 9, acid no. 146, 
I. no. 1067, R.-M. no. 0‘61, Hehner no. 91'02, glycerol 15'48%, Maumene test 65°. 
The oil, very thin at first, gradually thickens on keeping. AcOH and valeric 
acid are present. The mixed fatty acids, pale in color and thin, showed : 
'd JS 0 9065, d 100 0'8889. sapone. no. 194, 1 no. 147'4 ; temp, of turbidity 22° ; con- 
tains 8' 14% of lauric acid. No stearic acid is present. ^Chemical Abstracts 
for March 20, 1914, pp. 1186-7. 
63. Meconopsis aculeata, Royle. h.f.b.i., i. 118. 
Vern. : — Guddi kum (Jlielum) ; Gudi(Ravi); Kanada (Sutlej) 
Kanta (Simla) ; (Pb.) ; Kanda (Kumaon). 
Habitat : — Western Himalaya, from Kashmir to Kumaon. 
11-1,5000 ft. 
A prickly herb, stem leafy, 1-2 ft., smooth, except the short 
scattered prickles, leaves irregularly pinnatifid, 4-8 in. oblong or 
lanceolate, long petioled, catiline, sessile. Flowers blue-purple, 
2-3 in. diam. Pedicels slender, prickly in fruit. Capsules short 
and densely bristly and prickly, j-f in., obconic-obovatebr oblong, 
style half as long. 
Part used : — The root. 
Use: — In Kashmir, the root is considered as a narcotic, and 
in Chumba regarded as poisonous. (Stewart). 
64. M. Nipalensis , D.G. h.f.b.i., I. 118. 
Habitat : — Temperate Himalaya, Nepal, and Sikkim. 
A perennial herb, with yellow juice, stellately pubescent and 
laxly hairy, stem 3-5 ft , stout, erect, nearly simple ; young 
parts clothed with soft gold viUous hairs. Leaves sinuate-lobed 
or pinnatifid. Flowers golden yellow, 2-31 in- diam., in 
elongated, nearly simple, racemes. Sepah densely tomentose ' 
and bristly. Petals 4. Ovary 1-celled, style 1 in., persistent. 
Stigmatic lobes, radiating on its clubbed extremity. Capsule 
ovate-oblong, 8-10-valved ; clothed with adpressed hairs and 
stellate down. Seeds small, many, rugose. 
