N. 0. FIC0IDE7E. 617 
ridged on the back ” (Clarke). Embryo curled, through less 
than a semicircle. 
Uses 1 Thvvaites states that the plant is used as a medicine 
in fevers. Dr. Peters in a special note informs us that it has 
the reputation of promoting the flow of the lochial discharge 
(Watt). 
565 . Gisekia phranaceoides , Linn h.f.b.i., ii. 
664 . 
Vern — Manall kire, nummuelli kirai (Tam.); Esukadanti 
kura, Tsakad4sari kura (Tel.). 
Habitat -. — The Punjab, U. P, Sind and South Deccan 
Peninsula. 
Diffuse branched, succulent, glabrous, herbs. Stems 8-18in. 
Leaves opposite or falsely whorled, fleshy, spathulate, abounding 
in raphides, f-l^in., oblong or elliptic, entire, narrowed at the 
base. Stipules absent. Petiole absent or -jin., cymes axillary, 
dense. Flowers sessile and pedicelled, hermaphrodite or 
polygamous, small, greenish or purplish. Sepals 5, nearly free, 
ovate, herbaceous, with membranous margins, isin. Petals 
absent. Stamens 5, hypogynous ; filaments dilated below. 
Carpels usually 5, distinct, covered with papillae ; each carpel as 
heavy as the -sepals hi fruit, ends in a short simple style and 
contains one basal ovule. Seeds blackish, smooth, minutely 
glandular-punctate. Embryo curved, less than a semicircle. 
Use : — The plant has been found to act as a powerful 
anthelmintic in cases of ttenia. The discoverer, Capt W. H. 
Lowther (Journ. Agri-Hort. Soc. of India, 1857), directs that 
the fresh plant, including the leaves, stalks and capsules, be 
administered in doses of about an ounce ground into a powder 
and given in the form of a draught with water. The dose is 
recommended to be repeated three times, at intervals of four 
days (Ph. Ind.). 
78 
