842 
INDIAN MEDIOINAL PLANTS. 
acuminate, 3-nerved from the base, or more often the lateral 
nerves springing much higher. Petiole very short, ^in. Cymes 
axillary, lin. diam., nearly glabrous, nearly sessile. Flowers 
white, fragrant. Corolla |-^in., campanulate, 2-4 times the 
length of lobes ; tufts of white hair at the mouth, between sta- 
mens. Anther-cells oblong, glabrous. Style long, cylindric 
from a conical base, glabrous. Stigma small, distinctly 2-lobed 
Berry black when ripe, fin. diam. Seeds 1 or 2, hemispheric, 
subpeltate, hardly discoid, f-|in. diam. 
Uses ■ — “ The use of the seeds, for the purpose of clearing 
muddy water, is as old as Susruta, who mentions it in his 
chapter on water. Medicinally, they are chiefly used as a local 
application in eye diseases. The seeds are rubbed with honey 
and a little camphor, and the mixture applied to the eyes in 
lachrymation or copious watering from them. Rubbed with 
water and rock salt, they are applied to chemosis in the conjunc- 
tiva ” ( Hindu Mat. Med.) “ The seeds of this tree are devoid of 
poisonous properties, and are used in native practice as an emetic 
(Ainslie), as a remedy in diabetes (Kirkpatrick), gonorrhoea 
(' Taleef Shereef), &c. Their cheif use, however, is as a means of 
clearing muddy water, hence their Anglo-Indian name, Clearing 
Nut. Looked at in this point of view, they may be regarded as 
a valuable aid to medical officers and others during the marches 
of troops in India in the rainy season, when little but muddy 
water can be obtained. Dr. Pareira suggests that this property 
depends upon the albumen and casein which they contain. If 
the seeds be sliced and digested in water, they yield a thick 
mucilaginous liquid, which, when boiled, yields a coagulum 
f albumen), and, by subsequent addition of acetic acid, it fur- 
nishes a further coagulum {casein)” (Pharm. Ind.). Mahomedan 
writers describe them as cold and dry, that when applied exter- 
nally to the abdomen they relieve colic ; they also notice their 
use to strengthen the sight and as a .remedy in snakebite 
(Dymock). 
The seeds used by the natives of Madras in diabetes and 
gonorrhoea (Drury). 
Dr. Bidie doubts emetic ^properties of S. potatorum. 
