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OPHELIA  CHIRAYTA.  531 
under  that  name  (or,  properly,  Kiratha).  This  plant,  which  is 
only  1  or  2  feet  high,  also  tastes  intensely  bitter,  but  it  is  dis- 
tinguishable by  its  alternate,  long-stemmed  flowers,  with  rose- 
colored  bilabiate  corolla.    Moreover,  the  flower  forms  a  panicle. 
While  Ophelia  Chirayta  is  distinguished  as  duhhani^  or  south- 
ern Chiretta  or  Creyat,  the  Ophelia  angustifoUa,  Don,  is,  on  the 
contrary,  termed  pahari  Chiretta,  as  coming  from  the  moun- 
tains. This  variety  grows  in  the  same  districts  as  the  true  Chi- 
rayta ;  but  it  has  leaves  that  are  almost  lineal,  and  the  flowers 
have  a  white  corona,  with  violet  spots,  that  is  shorter  than  the 
calyx. 
On  the  contrary,  Ophelia  elegans,  Wight,  is  indigenous  to  the 
mountains  of  southern  India,  and  in  the  bazaars  of  that  district 
it  is  described  as  inland  Creyat.    It  has  blue  flowers. 
Lastly,  the  Indian  Pharmacopoeia  mentions  the  white-flowered 
0.  densifolia,  Griseb.  (0.  multiflora^  Dalzell).  All  these  varie- 
ties are  described  as  quite  as  bitter  as  the  true  Chirayta,  and  as 
being,  in  fact,  used  in  the  place  of  it  throughout  the  north-west- 
ern, central,  and  southern  provinces  of  India. 
These  varieties  of  Ophelia  correspond  in  their  native  country 
to  the  allied  indigenous  European  plants  which  have  been  intro- 
duced into  medical  use  here,  and  from  that  point  of  view  their 
investigation  by  Hohn  presents  some  pharmaceutical  interest. 
In  the  Indian  Pharmacopoeia  there  is  an  infusion  of  Chirayta, 
and  an  aromatic  tincture  with  cardamoms  and  orange-peel. 
By  extracting  the  stalks  and  roots  with  alcohol  of  60  per  cent, 
sugar,  wax,  chlorophyll,  soft  resin,  tannin,  an  acid  (ophelic), 
and  a  peculiar  bitter  substance  (chiratin)  were  dissolved. 
The  acid  was  syrupy,  and  veryg^deliquescent,  yellowish-brown, 
tasting  at  first  slightly  sour,  afterwards  intensely  bitter.  When 
w^armed  it  smells  like  lugian  ;  it  dissolves  in  water  with  some 
turbidity  (due,  perhaps,  to  resin),  completely  in  alcohol,  or  a 
mixture  of  spirit  with  ether.  It  decomposes  alkaline  solution  of 
copper  when  warmed  with  it ;  also  ammoniacal  solution  of  silver 
with  alkalies  it  darkens  ;  with  perchloride  of  iron  it  becomes 
reddish-yellow ;  with  sulphate  of  copper  dirty  green  ;  with  lead 
salts  yellow,  and  forms  amorphous  compounds  with  acids.  Ana- 
lysis of  J^he  lead  compound  gave  C26H2QO20  as  the  formula. 
