1290 
INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS. 
Herbs, glabrous or nearly so. Root-stock creeping ; stems 
2-3ft., round, arching. Leaves alternate oblong, ovate, 3J-4in. by 
ljin., nearly sessile, pointed, sub-bifarious or secund, oblong, by 
lower surface glaucous, sub-acute. Peduncles 1-5-fid., J-Jin. 
Racemes solitary, axillary, 2-5 flowered. Perianth , -fin. ; tube 
white ; lobes green, constricted in the middle; nerves within 
hairy. Filaments puberulous, inserted above the middle of the 
tube. Berry globose, Jin. diam., blue, black. Seeds few. 
Uses : — The rhizomes are used in Europe as a popular 
remedy for removing bruises, and discoloration of the skin 
resulting from blows. 
1278. Asphodelustenuifolius, Cavan., h.f.b.i., vi., 
332. 
Vern. : — Piazi, bokat (Pb.) ; Binghar-bij (seed) (Pb.) 
Habitat: — Abundant as field weed in most parts of the 
plains of India, from Bengal westward to Gujrat and the ( Punjab. 
An erect, glabrous, annual herb. Leaves radical, linear, 6-12in., 
slender, terete, fistular, erect, acuminate, ^jin. diam. Scape 
smooth or papillosely scaberulous, 6-24in., often much branched. 
Pedicels jointed below the middle, J-Jin. Flowers bracteate, 
racemed. Perianth 6-parted, Jin. long. Segments white, with 
a red-brownish costa, spreading. Stamens 6, hypogynous, fila- 
ments fusiform towards the tip, with bases dilated, concave, 
closely covering the ovary. Ovary 3-celled; style straight. 
Stigma 3-lobed, terminal. Ovules 2in. each cell. Capsule globose, 
Jin. diam., horizontally wrinkled. Seeds usually 3, 3-sided. 
J. D. Hooker remarks : “ Wight’s figure is very incorrect as 
regards the filaments ; he is unable to give any locality for the 
specimen figured, which, he supposes is from the sandy 6oils of 
the East Coast of the Deccan.” 
£7sea:---The seed is officinal at Lahore. It is said to be 
diuretic. 
1279. Chlorophytum arundinaceum, Baker., 
h.f.b.i., vi., 333. 
Vern. : — Safed musli (H.) ; Ganjagata (Gond). 
