182 
INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
Eng. : — The Roseile of India or Red Sorrel of the W 
Indies. 
Habitat : — Cultivated in hotter parts of India. 
An erect, cultivated annual shrub, glabrous, unarmed. Stem 
purple. Leaves entire or 3-lobed, serrate, midrib glandular 
beneath ; petiole 2 in. Peduncle solitaty, axillary, shorter than 
the petiole. Bracteoles and Calyx accrescent. Bracteoles 8-12, 
linear, adnate to the base of the Calyx. Sepals dotted, acuminate, 
bristly, connate below the midrib into a purplish fleshy cup. 
Corolla 2| in. diam., yellow. Capsule ovoid, pointed, villous, 
shorter than the Calyx, seeds reniform, sub-glabrous. 
Parts used : — The seeds, fruit and leaves. 
Use : — The succulent calyx is used for the preparation of 
what is called in Bombay Bazaars “ Roselle ” jelly or Rozal 
jelly, and, when dried, as an article of diet like tamarind is 
used much in curries. In bilious conditions, a diet drink 
is made by boiling it with water and adding a little salt, 
pepper, asafoetida and molasses (Dymock). 
Moodeen Sheriff recommends a decoction of the seeds as a 
draught, in doses of from 1 to 2 drs., 3 or 4 times a day, in 
dysuria and strangury, also in dyspepsia and debility. 
The fruit possesses anti-scorbutic properties. The leaves 
are regarded as emollient. They are often cooked as vegetable 
and in curries. K. R. K. 
The food plant roseile, Hibiscus Sabdariffa has recently been introduced 
into tho Philippine Islands and is the sole representative of a type, in which 
the calyx supplies the chief edible portion of the plant. After flowering, the 
calyx thickens and enlarges until it assumes the appearance of a large bud, 
which is harvested for making jam or jelly of a brilliant red colour and 
pleasant acid taste, and for the preparation of syrup and wine. The chemical 
composition of the calyx is very similar to that of the cranberry, comprising 
inter alia 3*31 percent, of malic acid, 0’83 per cent, of invert sugar, and 0 - 24 
per cent, of sucrose. The malic acid present consists entirely of the dextro- 
rotatory modification, which form has never previously been identified in plant 
composition, and the acidity of the fruit is due entirely to it, analysis proving 
the absence of Tartaric and Citric acids. The roseile leaves contain about P25 
per cent, and the stems about O'fiO per oent. of dextro malic acid, in conse- 
quence of which, both stems and leaves can be utilised in conjunction with the 
calyxes, when a brilliantly coloured food product is required. 
J. Ch. I. Jan. 31, 1913 p. 104. 
