896 
tNblAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
Habitat -. — Generally cultivated in India! 
A prickly, herbaceous annual, 2-8ft. ; sometimes nearly un- 
armed. Leaves 3-6 by 2-4in., ovate, sinuate or lobed, stellately 
woolly beneath, prickly. Petiole 1 i n . , peduncles mostly extra- 
axillary, often paired, one becoming a perfect flower, the other 
a short raceme of male flowers ; or the raceme may be considered 
sessile with the lowest flower only perfect. Calyx-lobes lanceo- 
late, in flower |-|in, elliptic or oblong-linear. Corolla blue, l-IJin. 
diam., shortly lobed, hairy on the plaits without. Style stellately 
pubescent, or glabrous. Berry l-9in., glabrous, exceeding the 
Calyx-lobes in cultivation, ellipsoid or elongate white, yellow, 
dark-purple, crimson or white, with tooth crimson, vertical stripes. 
Calyx-lobes fleshy and enlarged, in fruit often prickly. Fruit 
luscious, edible. 
Many distinct forms or races are recognized according to' the shape or 
colour of the fruit. The plant is more or less prickly according to the nature 
of the soil. In rich garden soil the prickles almost or entirely disappear. 
When cultivated as a field crop it becomes rather prickly, and very rtfuch so as 
an escape, under which conditions the peduncles bear 8-4 small and usually 
roundish fruits. Prain mentions two varieties ; 1. Esculents (S. longum, 
Roxb.), a stout pi'ickly herb with the fruit always cylindrical, and, according 
to Roxburgh, a distinct species ; and 2. Insana (S’ insanum, Roxb.) which is 
a very prickly herb found in a semi-wild state near villages. Its fruit is quite 
round, and the fruiting peduncles usually bear more than one (Duthie.) 
Parts used : — The leaves and seeds. 
Use : — The seeds are used as a stimulant arid the leaves as 
a narcotic (Atkinson.) The seeds are apt to lead to dyspepsia 
and constipation (Stewart). 
860. S. xanthocarpum, Schrad. and Wendl. 
H.F.B.I., iv. 236. 
Syn :-- S. Jacquini, Willd. Roxb. 191. 
Sans : — Kanta-kSri, nidigdhika. 
Vern. : — Katila, katai (Hind.); Kantakari (Beng.) ; Warumba, 
mahori (Pb.); Chuudun-ghatrie, kandan-kattiri (Tam.); Van- 
Nellagulla (Kan.) kuda (Tel.) ; Bhuringni (Bom.) ; Kandui 
(Chipat) (Pb.); Rat-kat-Janum (Chutia Nagpur). 
Habitat : — Common throughout India ; from the Punjab and 
Assam to Ceylon and Malacca. 
