1118 
INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
Habitat. -Behar, Bengal and Travancore. 
A rather much-branched, leafy shrub, black or brown when 
dry. Branches often very slender, terete or angled and grooved, 
opposite and whorled ; branchlets angular. Leaves rarely 
more than one inch, often unequal, petioled ; lrom obovate to 
elliptic-oblong and linear-oblong, obtuse, 3-5-nerved, base 
narrowed, or rounded. Flowers minute, under T ^jin. long, 
rarely more than 5, in sessile or peduncled clusters, monceious. 
Perianth usually 3-cleft. Perianth-lobes deciduous. Fruit of 
the size of a pea, smooth (Kurz), “ purple,” copiously minutely 
dotted (W. and A.). 
Use. — In Chutia Nagpur, this plant is largely used medicin- 
ally, and is believed to derive some particular property from 
the tree on which it is found. It is employed in as many differ- 
ent diseases as the trees on which it is found. (Campbell.) 
1109 . V. articulatum, Burm., h.f b.i., v. 226 . 
Vern.: — Pan, pudu (H.) ; Katlcom janga Santal) ; Hurchu 
(Nepal) ; Patha (Banda) ; Banda (C. P.) ; flarmore (Thanah 
Habitat: — Sub-tropical Himalaya, from Chamba to Sikkim, 
also Assam, Mishmi, Khasia mountains, southwards to Travan- 
core. 
A much-branched, leafless, green parasitic shrub, forming 
pendulous tufts 6in. to 3ft. long ; greenish-yellow when dry. 
Main stem terete. Branches flat, longitudinally striate, and 
furrowed, contracted at the nodes, internodes, widening up- 
wards, l-2in. long. Flowers sessile, in sessile, 3-flowered spikes ; 
two or several spikes at a joint. Perianth of male flowers 
reflexed. Female flowers ^bracteolate, the perianth-lobes erect, 
triangular. Fruit sub-globose, |in. long, yellow when ripe, 
sessile, in clusters of 4-5 at the nodes, each fruit supported 
by a shallow cup-shaped bract. Found on Cordia vestita, Cor- 
nus capitata, Pyrus, albizzia stipulate, Albizzia amara (Maha- 
bleshwar, Pratapgad Road). 
Uses: — In Chutia Nagpur, a preparation irom the plant is 
given in fever attended with aching limbs. The many joints 
in the plant have probably influenced the Santal ojhas in their 
