1000 
INDIAN M KUDINA I, I'l.INt'S. 
I 
long, entire or distinctly eremite above the middle, glabrescenf 
above, grey pubescent beneath. Flowers small. Panicles upto 
12iu. long. Calyx iViin., 5-tootl>ed. Corolla very hairy in 
the throat J-jin., middle lobe of the lower lip the largest. 
Stamens 4, didynainous, exserted. Ovary 2-4 celled, 4 ovuled ; 
style filiform, shortly 2-lobed. Fruit a succulent drupe 
supported by the more or less accrescent calyx, J-^in. 
diarn., globose, black when ripe. Fndoearp normally 4-celled 
(Kafnjiilal). 
The branches are apt to be attacked by Cuscuta retlexa 
(Dodder), says Gamble 
Use “ Sanskrit writers mention two varieties of Nir- 
gundf — that with pale blue flowers is called Sindhnvara (Vitex 
trifolia), and that with blue flowers is called Nirgundi. The 
properties of both are identical, but the latter is generally used 
in medicine. The root of V. Negurtdo is considered tonic, 
febrifuge and expectorant. The leaves are aromatic, tonic 
and vermifuge. A decoction of Nirgundi leaves is given with 
the addition of long pepper in catarrhal fever with heaviness 
of head and dullness of hearing. A pillow stuffed with the 
leaves of Nirgundf is placed under the head for relief of head- 
ache. The juice of the leaves is said to have the property of 
removing foetid discharges and worms from ulcers. An oil 
prepared with the juice of the leaves is applied to sinuses and 
scrofulous sores” (Hindu Mat. Med). Dr. Fieming remarks 
that the leaves are discutient, and are useful in dispersing 
swellings of joints from acute rheumatism and of the testes 
from suppressed gonorrhoea. The people of Mysore are in the 
habit of treating febrile, catarrhal and rheumatic affections by 
means of a vapour bath prepared with this plant. Roxburgh 
also mentions the use of the decoction of the leaves as a bath 
in the puerperal state of. women in India, and Ainslie states 
that the Mahomedans smoke the dried leaves for the relief 
of headache and catarrh. The dried fruit acts as a vermifuge 
(Pharm. Ind ) 
Dr. Hove (1787; slates that the Europeans in Bombay call 
it the fomentation shrub, and that, it is used in the hospitals 
