612 
INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
one day, arising from the tufts on the upper edges or sides of 
the joints. Calyx-tube adnate to the ovary, not prolonged 
beyond it, lobes numerous on the upper edge and on the hollow 
receptacle of the Calyx. Petals numerous, widely spreading ; 
stamens numerous, about half the length of the petals. Stigma 
3-fid. Fruit fleshy, obovate or pear-shaped, umbilicate at the top, 
with spine-bearing tubercles near the apex. The joints strike 
roots, but it is chiefly spread by birds which eat the fruit and 
drop the seeds (Brandis). 
Uses : — The fruit is considered a refrigerant ; the leaves 
mashed up and applied as a poultice are said to allay heat and 
inflammation (Ainslie). In the Deccan, the baked fruit is 
given in whooping cough (Lisboa). 
In Dacca, the milky juice is given as a purgative in doses ' 
of ten drops mixed with a little sugar (Taylor). 
A syrup of the fruit appears to increase the secretion of bile 
when given in teaspoonful doses three or four times a day, 
and to control spasmodic cough and expectoration (Dymock). 
The ripe fruit when eaten has the power of dyeing the 
urine red (Miller). 
Said to be useful in gonorrhoea. The hot leaf applied to 
boils hastens suppuration ; the leaf made into a pulp is applied 
to the eyes in cases of ophthalmia. 
I have used joints warmed up for poultices in guineaworm, 
abscesses with marked effect (K. R. K.). 
According to Leather, the fruit consists of Water, 16-96 per 
cent ; organic matter 60-64, ash 22-40. 
A fruit from Nellore, analysed by David Hooper gave the 
following results : — Carbohydrates 4189 ; fibre 32'00 ; albumi- 
noids 6'25 ; fat 3'63 ; Water 5’67 ; and ash 10'56. (Report 
Indian Museum Laboratory. 1904-5 p. 30). 
