854 
INDIAN MEDICINAL PI, ANTS. 
ovate, acute, about as long as the Corolla. Seeds ^ 0 in., poly- 
hedral ; testa close, minutely reticulated, so that the seeds 
appear often glistening (C. B. Clarke). 
Uses: — According to Dr. Cleghorn (Indian Annals of Med. 
Sci., vol. iii., p. 271), 0. elegans, Wight, which inhabits the 
mountains of the Madras Peninsula, possesses powerful and 
persistent bitterness. He states that frequent trials with it con- 
firm the belief that it exercises a tonic influence on the digestive 
organs, thereby improving the general health ; it appears also to 
possess some power as an antiperiodic. It is best given in the 
form of infusions in the proportion of two drachms to a pint of 
cold water. It appears equal, if not superior, to the officinal 
Chiretta (Ph. Ind.). 
806 . S. decussata, Nimmo. ii.f.b.i., iv. 127 . 
Vern. — Sijajit (Dec.) ; Kadu, (meaning “ bitter ” Mahablesh- 
war). 
Habitat: — Common in the Western Deccan Peninsula, from 
the Concan to Travancore. 
Herbs, with stems l-3ft., terete or 4-winged. Leaves. sessile, 
ovate-obtuse, If by fin., numerous, approximate, decussate, 3-5- 
nerved. Corymbs very dense. Pedicels O-fin., mostly short. 
Sepals f-fin., narrowly lanceolate. Corolla-lobes white, with 
blue nerves, with a round depression at the base of each, j by 
-Jin., broadly oblong, shortly acute ; covering scale shortly hairy, 
not very long. 
Uses : — It forms an excellent substitute for Chiretta, and 
is so used in Bombay (Dalzell and Gibson, Bombay Flora 
p. 156). Particular attention has been called to it b} T 
Dr. Broughton Bombay Med. Phys. Trans, vol. vi., N. S., 
App., p. 58). The dried root, he states, occurs in pieces about 
two inches in length, of a diameter of a quill, giving off two 
or three rootlets, covered with a whitish brown epidermis, 
wrinkled longitudinally, white internally ; brittle. He considers 
that its medicinal action and uses are similar to those of 
Gentian and Chiretta, for which it may be advantageously 
