Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Coniferæ

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Vern. :— Sara, sarâs (Hind.) ; Farâs (Sind) ; Saruboke (Mar.). ​ Habitat: — Planted only in N.-W. India.

A tall, evergreen tree. Bark thin, light, peeling off in thin strips. Wood light-brown, moderately hard, close and even-grained. An ornamental tall tree, cultivated in gardens, attaining 100ft. and 9ft. girth of the trunk ; branches and their tips erect, with the leaves 4-angled ; crown narrowly cylindrical of dark-green foliage. Leaves ovate-oblong, convex, with a gland on either side. Anthers about 4 ; cones few, scattered, peduncled, lin. diam., globose or oblong ; scales of cone tubercled, 3-14, usually lin. diam., with a short, convex or keeled horn or boss. Seeds ovoid or oblong, nucleus angled.

Uses : — Wood and fruit are regarded as astringent and anthelmintic. (Watt.) The fruit is prescribed as an aromatic stimulant in piles. (T. N. Mukerji.)

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Vern. : — Aaraar (Hind.); Chichia (Kumaon) ; Nûch, pâma, pethra, bentha, betar (Kashmir) ; Petthrî, petthar, betthal wetyar, pâma, giâshûk, lassar, nûch, chûch, betar, dhûp, lewar, langshûr, thelu, gûgil, chûi, shûpa, fruit = haulber, abhûl (Pb.); Langshûr thelu, lewar (Kunawar); Chûni, shuha (Spiti) ; Sbama (Lahoul); Abhal (Dec.) ; Fruit = Abhal,habbul-aaraar, samratul- arraar (Arab.).

Habitat : — Western Himalaya, from Kumaon westward.

A dense, diffuse, ever-green shrub. Leaves ¼-¾in., in whorls of three, straight, spreading or erect ; base narrowed, upper surface pale or white, concave ; lower green, convex, or obtusely keeled beneath, with a more or less prominent cushion on branchlets, persistent 3-4 years. Flowers axillary, supported by small, imbricating bracts ; the male catkins ovoid, yellow, antheriferous ; scales broad-ovate, acuminate. The females resembling leaf-buds. Fruit globose, blue-black when ripe ¼-⅓in., very fleshy, ripening in August and September of the year after flowering. Seeds usually 3. Fruit sweet, aromatic, resinous, covered with a handsome, light bloom. Bark thin, reddish-brown, fibrous. Wood white ; heartwood yellowish or pale-red, ​

fragrant, moderately hard. In the Himalayas, the tree rarely attains more than C-7ft. in height, often with a disproportionately thick stem, 18-24in. in girth.

Uses : — The fruit and the oil are officinal in the Pharmacopœias of India and Great Britain.

The nuts are sold in the bazars of Northern India for medicine, and are prescribed as diuretic and stimulant. Irvine mentions that they are imported into Patna from Nepal, and are used in the treatment of gonorrhœa. (Watt.)

" Juniper fruit and oil possesses carminative, stimulant and diuretic properties. They are useful in different forms of dropsies, either administered alone, or in combination with other diuretics. They have been used in mucous discharges as gonorrhœa, gleet and leucorrhœa ; and in some cutaneous diseases. The wood has been regarded as sudorific in its action, and has been substituted for Guaiacum and Sassafras." (Bentley and Trimen.)

Vern. : — Tupi (Nepal) ; Deschû, chakbu (Sikkim) ; Bettar, bhedâra, bidelganj, thelu, phulu, jhora, gûggal, bil, ûrûn, agâni (U. P.) ; Wetyar, bettar, chûch, thelu, phulu (Pb.) ; Pama (Tibet.)

Habitat : — Temperate and Alpine Himalaya.

An evergreen graceful, blue, glaucous tree attaining 30ft. or straggling, gregarious shrub. Bark brown, thin, peeling off in long fibrous strips. Wood moderately hard, very fragrant ; sap-wood white; heartwood light-red. (Gamble.) Branches fastigiate, decurved and ascending, with pendulous branches in large plants. Leaves subulate, imbricate, more or less depressed, in whorls of 3, ⅓in. long, lanceolate, pungent, back convex. Branchlets more or less 6-sided. Male catkins and bracts at the end of short lateral leafy branchlets, ovoid, Yellow, Females small, ovules erect. Berries ovoid, pointed, ⅓-½in. long, shining, dark-brown or blackish-purple when ripe. Seed 1, oblong, not winged.

Uses : — Aitchison reports that the smoke from the green wood is known in Kashmir as a powerful emetic, producing long continued vomiting. ​

Syn. :— J. Excelsa, Brand., For. Fl. t 68.

Vern. : — Dhupi, dhupri, chandan, shûpka (Nepal) ; Dhûp, padam, padmak, surgi (H.) ; Sûrgi, lewar, newar, dupri, chundan (Kumaon) ; Chalai, shûpka, shûr, shûrgu, lewar, luir (Pb.) ; Apûrz (Beluch.)

Habitat: — Inner drier ranges of the Himalaya from Nepal, westward.

A moderate-sized, ever-green tree. Bark thin, reddish-brown, fibrous, peeling off in thin, longitudinal flakes. Wood moderately hard, fragrant ; sapwood yellowish ; heart-wood red, with a purplish tinge. Height rarely 50ft., trunk short, but of great girth, usually 6-7ft., at times even more, 33 ft. Branchlets sub-distichous, slender. Leaves dimorphic, of the lower branches subulate, of the upper branches and branchlets, scale like. Foliage light and open ; the scale-like leaves usually opposite, rhomboid, convex, obtuse, closely depressed up to the apex, with a large, resinous gland on the back, the subulate leaves opposite or in whorls, pungent, ⅓in. long. Male catkins on a scaly peduncle at the ends of branchlets, ⅛-1/6in. long, closely set with imbricate scales. Berries sab-globose, bluish-black when ripe, very resinous ; the tips of the scales forming transverse ridges or crests. Seeds 2-5.

Uses: — The fruit is used medicinally, and appears to have similar properties to that of J. communis. The smaller branches, when burnt, are supposed to exercise a deodorising and cleansing influence, and, in Khâgan, they are believed to act as a remedy for the delirium of fever.

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Vern. : — Thûno, birmî, zirnub, birmi (Hind.); Rurmie, bhirmie, sugandh (Beng.) ; Diogsableh (Khasia); Teheiray sulah, teheiray gulab (Nepal) ; Nhare (Tibet) ; Tingschi, tsashing (Bhutia) ; Cheongbu (Lepcha) ; Thuner, geli, gallu, lûst (U. P.); Patr (Bomb.) ​ Habitat : — Temperate Himalaya, extending westwards to Afghanistan, and eastwards to Bhutan and Khasia Hills.

A large, ever-green tree attaining in the Himalayas 10ft. and 20ft. girth of trunk. Branches spreading. Bark thin, purplish-grey, peeling off longitudinally. Wood hard, close and even-grained, smooth ; sapwood white, heartwood orange-red, light-red or white. Kanjilal says " though ' generally middle- sized,' the tree is sometimes very large, with a large spreading crown." Trunk short, branches horizontal, foliage dark-green. Leaves flattened, coriaceous, linear, distichous, l-l½in. long, 1-nerved, narrowed into a short petiole, no resin canal. Flowers dioecious, on short axillary branchlets, which are densely clothed with imbricating bracts. Male flowers pedicelled, sub-globose, with numerous, peltate scales, each bearing on the underside 3-6 anther-cells, dehiscing longitudinally. Female flower a single, erect ovule, surrounded at the base by a disc which is membranous in flower, but enlarges into a red, fleshy cup, surrounding the seed ; testa hard ; embryo in the upper portion of the endo-sperm ; cotyledons 2, thick, fleshy.

Uses : — "The leaves contain a volatile oil, tannic and gallic acids, and a resinous substance called toxin. Yew leaves and fruits have been given for their emmenagogue, sedative and anti-spasmodic effects. Pereira says that therapeutically the yew appears to hold an intermediate position between Savin and Digitalis, being allied to the former by its acrid, diuretic and emmenagogue properties, and to the latter by the giddiness, irregular and depressed action of the heart, convulsions and insensibility, which it produces. Yew is, however, reported to have one decided advantage over Digitalis by its effects not accumulating in the system, so that it is a much more manageable remedy than Digitalis. Besides its use as an emmenagogue and sedative in the same cases as Savin and Digitalis are administered, it has also been employed as a lithic in calculus complaints ; and as an antispasmodic in epilepsy and convulsions. According to Dr. Taylor the yew tree is sometimes used by ignorant persons to cause abortion. At the present time, yew is never used in regular medical practice in Europe, ​ the principal interest attached to it having reference to its poisonous properties. Thus, the leaves and young branches act as a narcotico-acrid poison, both to the human subject and to certain animals, but more especially to horses and cows. Fatal cases of poisoning have also occurred from swallowing the fruit. It is frequently stated that animals may feed upon the young growing shoots with impunity, but that, when these have been cut off, and left upon the ground for a short time, they are, then, poisonous. This is an entirely erroneous notion for yew shoots and leaves are poisonous both in a dried and fresh state. It seems certain, however, that the red, succulent cup of the fruit is harmless, for a fatal case of poisoning has been recorded of a child from swallowing the entire fruit with its contained seed ; whilst other children, who had partaken of the fruit at the same time, but who had rejected all but the fleshy cup, suffered no ill-effects." (Bentley and Trimen.)

Dr. Dymock informs me that the dried leaves and twigs of this plant constitute the talispatr of the Bombay bazars and druggists' shop. While this is, no doubt, correct, it is rather surprising that the plant Taxus baccata, in no vernacular, bears the name Talisa, a fact that would point to the name talispatr as but of modern application. Gamble says : " the bar, is used in Kunawar as a substitute for, or mixed with, tea ; the berries are eaten, and the leaves are exported to the plains as a medicine." In Europe, the berries are (as already stated) regarded as poisonous, but, in Manipur, I have seen them eaten. The tree is common on the mountains bordering on Burma and the Naga Hills. A twig is worn by the young unmarried Naga females as a charm to prevent pregnancy—chastity being exceptional before marriage. It is remarkable that, in Bengal, the talispatr, as sold in the bazar, should be an Abies, a plant possessed of carminative, expectorant and stomachic properties, while, in Bombay, it should be the poisonous leaves of the yew which possess emmenagogue, sedative and anti-spasmodic properties. See Abies Webbiana. (Watt.)

In Northern India, the leaves are largely employed for medicinal purposes, under the name of birm or brahmi, chiefly ​ as a remedy for indigestion and epilepsy and as an aphrodisiac. (Irvine.) The bark is used by Kunâwaris as a substitute for tea (Kanjilal.)

The palp of the ripe fruit is non-poisonous ; the kernel contains the taxin. This substance is prepared from its satd. soln. in very dil. Na CI soln., by Na CI. NH₃ , NaOH, phospho-tungstic acid, phospho-molybdic acid, potassium mercuric iodide, KI₃ , Esbach's reagent, Au Cl₃ and (NH₄ )₂S0₄ . With coned. H₂S0₄ , it gives a red color, and with Killiani's reagent a red ring ; KMn0₄ is decolorized in both acid and neutral soln. In CHCl₃ with a layer of coned. H₂S0₄ , a brown ring is formed. The unripe fruit is, perhaps, more poisonous than the ripe. Taxin is not toxic to fish. Rabbits, guinea pigs, and cats, if the dosage is cautiously increased, can stand many times the lethal doses subcutaneously without harm. These animals thus become comparatively immune to this poison very quickly. Game and cud-chewing domestic animals stand moderate ambs. of yew needles without harm ; horses and other solipeds, though more susceptible, likewise soon easily accustom themselves to taxin. It may be extracted from the wine, into which it passes unchanged, by Et₂0, after adding Na₂C0₃ . The action of taxin consists in motor excitation of the central nerve system, followed by paralysis. (Chem. Abst., Sept. 10, 1915, p. 2403.)

The alkaloid, taxine, was obtained from the green leaves and the air-dried leaves. Its formula is C₃₇H₅₂O₁₀N.

The physiological action of taxine was examined in 1876 by Borchero, who states that, when administered to frogs, rabbits, cats and dogs, it depresses the action of the heart and interferes with the respiratory functions, and that death ensues from suffocation in a short time. It has been asserted, however, that taxine has no action on guinea pigs. Further experiments are required to establish definitely whether the alkaloid is actually poisonous, and if so, how it acts, and whether, as alleged, certain animals are immune to it. (Thorpe & Stubbs, J. Ch. S. 1902, p. 880.)

Autumn-gathered leaves of male and female trees have been investigated. The alkaioid was extracted by digesting the powdered air-dried leaves with 1 per cent. Sulphuric acid for five or six days. The acid liquid was strained and pressed from the leaves, and at once, without concentration, rendered alkaline and extracted with ether. Taxine was obtained in the form of very fine glistering particles by crushing down the residue from the ether extract. It gives precipitate with most of the alkaloidal reagents, and colour reactions with strong sulphuric acid alone, and when this reagent is mixed with nitric acid, molybdic acid, or chromic acid. (Y. E. Thorpe & G. Stubbs Proc. Ch. S. for 1902, p. 123.)

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Sans. : — Sarala, oleo-resin = sarala drava, sricâsa, kshira.

Vern. : — Salla, saral, chir, chîl, oleo-resin = ganda-biroza, chîr-kâ-gond (Hind.) ; Dhûp, sala, dhûp, sula, oleo-resin= dhup, ​ koto (Nepal) ; Gniet (Lepcha) ; Teadong (Bhutia) ; Kolan, chîr, salla, sapin, kolon, kolain, seed = kalghoza, chalhatti (U.P.) ; Dhûp (Oudh); Chîr, salla, sapin, kolon, kolan, kolais (Kumaon); Salla, sarl (Kashmir) ; Chîr chil, drâb chîr, nashtar, nakhtar, ranzuru, gula, thansa, anandar, saral, oleo-resin = ganda-biroza, purified oleo-resin = biroza, sat-bîroza (Pb.) ; Nashtar, nakhtar Pushtu); oleo-resin = Gandah-birozah (Bomb.) ; Oleo-resin = Birozeh (Pers.).

Habitat :— Drier Himalayan slopes, from 2,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level.

A large, more or less deciduous tree, eminently gregarious, attaining 100-110ft., but often stunted and gnarled. Trunk usually naked, rarely 12ft. girth. Bark l-2in. thick, reddish-brown outside, dark-red within, cut by deep fissure into large plates of irregular size, but more or less rounded and on an average about 6in. across. Wood moderately hard ; sap wood white ; heartwood light reddish-brown. (Gamble.) Branches symmetrically whorled, high up the trunk, forming a rounded head of light foliage. Leaves 9-1 2in. long, slender, nearly triquetrous ; sheath ½-lin. long, greyish-brown, imbriate, persistent. Male catkins ⅓-½in. long, cylindric ; cones on short stiff stalks, spreading or recurved, solitary or in whorls of 2-5, 4-8in. long, diam. 3-5in. ; scales 1-2 by ⅔in. ; beak thick, pyramidal, pointed and somewhat recurved. Seeds oblong, -lin. long, with the unequal-sided, thin, membranous wing, which latter is rather longer than seed. Cotyledons about 12.

Uses : — The people of Upper India obtain from it tar and turpentine. The former is said to be equal to that obtained by a more refined process in Europe ; and the turpentine is stated merely to require attention to render it equal to the imported article. Dr. Hugh Cleghorn (Jour. Agri.-Hort Soe. of India, 1865, vol. xiv., p. i., App. p. 7) speaks of the product being of a superior description, equal, in fact, to Swedish tar. In an economical point of view, this subject may be worthy of attention. (Ph. Ind.).^[1]

​Internally, the resin is used as a stomachic and externally as a plaster, and is applied to buboes and abscesses for suppuration. The wood is considered stimulant, diaphoretic and useful in burning of the body, cough, fainting and ulcerations.

"The resin is stimulant both externally and internally. Internally, it acts chiefly on the mucous membrane of the genito-urinary organs, and is, therefore, a very good remedy for gonorrhœa. I have used it with success in many cases of this disease, and in a few, with decided benefit, after the failure of copaiba, cubebs, gurjan balsam and turpentine. Dose : from one to three drachms in emulsion with mucilage, four times in 24 hours. As it is very thick, it requires to be mixed well and gradually with the mucilage." (Moodeen Sheriff.)

The resin oil forms a white, rather tough, opaque mass and has a granular structure which is probably due to partial crystallisation of the resin acid. Its odor is extremely pleasant and somewhat resembles that of limestone. It has a Sp. Gr. 0.990, [a]_D-7°42', acid number 129, ester number 11, and saponification number 140. When distilled with steam, it yields about 18.5 per cent, of a volatile oil, which has the characteristic odour of pinene and a somewhat fainter odour of limonene. The oil has a sp. gr. 0.866 and [a]_D+2°48'. When fractionally distilled, it yields (1) 56 per cent, of a liquid which boils at 165-170° and has [a]_D -2°; (2)20 per cent, which boils at 170-175° and has [a]_D+2°48'; (3) 9 per cent, which boils at 175-180° and has [a_D+6°50' ; and (4) 15 per cent, which boils at 180° and above and has [a]_D 180° 12'. The oil probably contains I -pinene together with a small quantity of d- limonene. The presence of pinene was detected in the first fraction by means of amyl nitrite, but a crystalline nitroso-chloride was not isolated. Attempts to prepare the hydro-chloride and bromine additive compound also failed. The white, crumbly resin which remains after distilling the oil has acid number 142, ester number 13, and saponification number 155 ; a 10 per cent, solution in a 100 mm. tube has a_D=1°10'. Crystals of a resin acid melting ​ at 138-140° separate from the solution of the resin in glacial acetic acid after remaining for 24 hours. (Frank Rahak, Chem. Oentr. 1905)— J. Ch. S. LXXXVII1., Pt. II., p. 911.

Vern. : — Dingsa (Khasia).

Habitat : — Khasia and Chittagong.

A large, ever-green tree, 100-150ft. in Khasya, in Burma even 200ft., with a trunk 10ft. in girth. Bark thick, with deep cracks. Wood very resimous, moderately hard, pale-brown to red. Resin-ducts numerous in the outer and middle belt of each annual ring. Leaves 6-10in. long, slender, green, serrulate ; back convex ; sheath persistent, grey, lacerated at apex, ½-¾in. Cones solitary or in pair, sometimes in threes, ovoid, 2-3in. long, greatest diam. 2in. Peduncle bracteate. Young cones recurved ; beak of scales depressed, pyramidal, with a blunt knob at the end, wings round, topped, 4-tunes the length of the seed. Seeds ⅔in., together with the wing.

Use : — This species also yields Oil of Turpentine, which according to the report of Professor Armstrong, F. R. S., corresponds in properties with French Oil of Turpentine.

Vern.: — Gonober, rhi, newr, seeds = chilgoza, neoza (H.) ; Ronecha, rolecha (Kumaon) ; Rhi, shangti (Kunawar) ; Chiri, prita, mirri, galgoja, galboja, kashti, rhi, neoza, shangti, newr, ruminche, roniunchi (Pb.).

Habitat :— Dry interior valleys of the N.-W. Himalaya, from Kunawar westwards and in Garwhal.

A moderate-sized, ever-green tree. Bark very thin, grey, smooth, exfoliating in large, thin scales, leaving rounded shallow depressions, cracked only in very old trees. Wood hard, very resinous ; heartwood yellowish-brown. Resin copious. Branches not whorled. Girth 12ft. sometimes. Height 50ft., sometimes 60ft., in congenial soil with proper space to develop its peculiar beauty, it becomes a regular dense, conical tree. Foliage beautifully dark-green, says Brandis. Leaves in trees stout, stiff, 3-5in. long ; back rounded, persistent for 3-4 years, serrulate ; sheath deciduous, ½in., entire. Bracts deciduous. Male-catkins ⅓-½in. ​ long, diam. 4-oi 11. ; peduncle lin. Scales broad ; beak stout, recurved, obtusely triangular. Seeds irregularly cylindric, lin. long, oily, edible ; wing short, caducous.

Uses : — The seeds are considered anodyne and stimulant. The oil extracted from them is highly esteemed for its stimulating and healing powers when applied as a dressing to wounds, ulcers, etc. It is also said by Stewart to be employed as an external application in diseases of the head. (Watt.)

The seeds yield 30.7 per cent, of a very viscous, greenish-yellow oil. Grimme (1911) obtained the following constants : Specific gravity at 15°, 0.9307 ; solidifying point— 17°; acid value, 1.6; saponification value, 191.3 ; iodine value (Wijs), 118.3. Patty acids, 91.46; unsaponifiable matter, 1.64; melting point, 0° ; solididying point— 3° ; iodine value (Wijs), 125.0 ; neutralisation value, 196.7 ; mean molecular weight, 285.2.

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Syn. : — Pinus deodara, Roxb. 677.

Sans. : — Devadâru, Sarala.

Vern. : — Deodar (H.); Dewdar, geyâr, kelu, pallur, dadâ (Pb.) ; Devadâru (B.) ; Devdâr, vânseo-deodar (Guz.) ; Devadârû (Mar.); Devadâru-chedi (Tam.); Devadâri-chettu (Tel.) ; Devatâ-ram (Mal.) ; Devadâri-marâ (Kan.).

Eng. : — Deodâr, Himâlayan Cedar.

Habitat: — N.-W. Himalaya, from Kumaon westwards.

A horizontal-branched tree, leader and young branchlets pendulous or drooping. Bark brown with a whitish lustre. Branchlets somewhat tuberculose from the persistent bases of the fasciculi of leaves. Leaves growing on branches in tufts 20-60 in number. Young twigs have no tufts, but solitary. Each tuft may be called an arrested bud ; young leaves light- green and glaucous, and dark- green as they become older, triquetral (midrib being prominent on the inner side and rounded on the back) stiff, perennial, ½-2in. long, acicular, acute ; stomata about 4 rows of each side of the inner side, and one or two lines of stomata as sometimes only a few irregular scattered stomata on the rounded or outer side. Male catkins numerous, solitary at first, oblong, oval and obtuse, afterwards more ​ cylindrical. Stamens sub-cylindrical, bilocular, with triangular, terminal, oblique scale. Female cones at first sessile, solitary, of a cylindrical form, of a pea-green colour, covered with a delicate, velvety, bluish bloom. As they advance in growth, they stand erect and solitary in a small peduncle on the upper side of the branches and become brown. They are oval, very obtuse, 2-5in. long, l-2½in. diam. In their early green stage, most deliciously fragrant. Scales very broad, transversely oblong, flat, fan-shaped, ferruginous, entire, smooth and thin at the edges and somewhat membranaceous. Seeds unequal, somewhat wedge-shaped, with a large, obovate-membranous, brown wing, expanding suddenly on the thinner side, immediately beyond the seed. The majority of male catkins and female flowers are on separate trees. But a considerable number of trees also produce both male and female flowers on the same individuals. The usual girth is from 24-30ft., at times 33-36ft., 4 or 5ft. above the ground. Height 160-180ft , or even 200ft. (Vol. III. P. 225, Pinetum Britannicum. Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1884.)

Sir Joseph Hooker says (Natural History Review, 1862, p. 17). " It is evident that the distinctions between Cedrus Deodara, Cedrus Libani and Cedrus Atlantica are so trifling and so far within the proved limits of variation of conifera plants that it may reasonably be assumed that all originally sprang from one. It should be added that there are no other distinctions whatever between them of bark, wood, leaves, male cones, anthers or the structure of these, nor in the mode of germination or duration ; the girth they attain or their hardiness (the assumed distinctive characters between the Deodar and Lebanon Cedar that were formed on the form of the cones the falling away of their scales, the shape of the leaf in section, the wood, its odour and durability having all been satisfactorily disproved long ago. * * * *. Though the differences in the scales and seeds of Deodara and Libani are very marked, they vary much, many forms of each overlap, and further transitions between the most dissimilar may be established by intercalation of seeds and scales from C. Atlantica My own impression ​ is that they should be regarded as three well-marked forma, which are usually very distinct, but which often graduate into one another, not as colours do by blending, but as members of a family do by the presence in each of some characters common to most of the others, and which do not interfere with, or obliterate, all the individual features of the possessors." With regard to these observations of Sir Joseph Hooker, the Author of Pinetum Britannicum makes the following remark, which is worth reproducing here. It runs thus..." Sir Joseph Hooker very accurately points out the true nature of the relationship of the three Cedars, although it may not be easy to say whether he most inclines to hold them as species or varieties." (The italics are mine. K. R. Kirtikar.)

The Author of Pinetum Britannicum says that C. Libani, Loud., is a closely-allied species.

To show the differences between Cedrus Deodara and C. Libani, we have inserted a drawing of the latter on Plate No. 928A. Cedrus Libani is not indigenous to India— (K. R. K. & B. D. B)

Uses : — By Sanskrit writers, the aromatic wood is considered carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic and useful in fever, flatulence, dropsy, urinary diseases, etc. It is chiefly used in combination with other medicines. (Dutt.)

It yields a coarse, very fluid kind of turpentine (Kelon hâ tel, Hind.), held in much esteem by the natives as an application to ulcers and skin diseases. It appears also to enter largely into their nostrums for the treatment of leprosy (Prof. FT. H. Wilson, Calcutta Med. Phys. Trans., vol. i., p. 41). Dr. Gibson regards it as very effectual in this disease when given in large doses. In the 2nd volume of these Transactions, Dr. J. Johnston details a serve case of lepra mercurialis, treated externally and internally with Deodar oil, extracted by heat from the wood. Commenting on this case, Dr. Johnston remarks that the Deodar oil produced the happiest effects by suddenly checking and ultimately curing the disease. A drachm of the oil was as large a dose as the patient's stomach could bear. It always acted as a diaphoretic, and produced ​ no other sensible effects. It was found extremely variable in its action, in some a drachm causing vomiting, whilst in others half an ounce induced only slight nausea. Dr. Johnston extended its use to other skin diseases with advantage. Dr. Royle (op. cit., p. 352) states that the leaves and small twigs of the Deodara are also brought down to the plains, being much employed in native medicine. They may, doubtless, possess some mild terebinthinate properties. (Ph. India.)

Tn Kangra, the wood is pounded with water on a stone, and the paste applied to temples to relieve headache. (Stewart.)

The wood is bitter, useful in fever, costiveness, piles and pulmonary complaints. (S. Arjun.)

Vern, : — Palûdar, rewari (Jhelam) ; Bâdar, bûdar, tûng (Kashmir) ; Dhûnu, râg, rail, pe, re, salle, sara (Chamba) ; Tos (Kulu) ; Spun, pun, krok, kalrei (Kanawar) ; Morinda (Jaunsar) ; Bang, dodhma, râgha, teliya or chili râgha (South- Eastern Garhwal) ; Raunsla or râi salla (Kosi River) ; Râgha, râo râgha, ransla, raisalla (Kumaon) ; Gobria, sulah (Nepal); Dumshing (Bhutia.)

Habitat: — Temperate and Sub-alpine Himalaya.

An ever-green tree. Bark greyish-brown, rough. Wood white, soft. "Attains 150ft. Girth of trunk 30ft., says J. D. Hooker. " Usually stunted and gnarled " (Brandis). Josiah Hoopes, of Philadelphia, in his Treatise on Conifers, New York, 1889, says " A Webbiana is a native of the Himalayas and the Alps of Goosainthan in Nepal at elevations from 9,500 to 12,000 or 13,000ft., where it attains to the height of 70 or 80ft., forming a large, pyramidal- shaped tree, with broad, spreading branches, and in adult specially with a rather tabular formed top." Kanjilal describes the plant thus :-— " A lofty tree, with a densely, cylindric crown, pre-eminently shade-enduring ; branches pendular ; branchlets stout, stiff, spreading horizontally ; bark, on young stems, dark-brown or grey ; and split into long and narrow scales on old trees. Leaves 1-2 by1/10in., narrow-linear, narrowed into a short petiole, spirally arranged, but decimate on two sides to appear distichous, glossy, dark-green above, ​ with two faint, white lines either side of the midrib beneath, persistent for at least 3 years ; tip emarginate, generally with two sharp cups. Cones always erect, oblong or cylindric, 2-4in. long, l½-3in. diam., dark-purple when ripe ; scales closely imbricate, obovate ; edge round. Seeds 1/6-1/5in. long, obovoid ; wing twice as long broadly obovate, truncate ; cotyledons 5-6." (Kanjilal's Forest Flora of Sewalik, etc., p. 434, 2nd Edition, Calcutta, 1911.)

Uses :— The dried leaves of this plant (Talispatra, Hind, and Beng., Talispatra, Sans.)* are regarded as carminative, expectorant, stomachic, tonic and astringent, and useful in phthisis, asthma, bronchitis and catarrh of the bladder. The powdered leaves are often given along with the juice of Adhatoda Vasica and honey, and a confection called taliadya churn is prepared from the talispatra along with pepper, ginger, bamboo, manna,

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​cardamoms, cinnamon and sugar. The talispatra also enters into the preparation of numerous complex prescriptions. (U. C. Dutt's Hindu Mat. Med.) Dr. F. Hamilton says the Hindu Doctors of Behar use an infusion of talispatra in the treatment of hoarseness. Hakims affirm that the gum, mixed with oil of roses, when taken internally, produces intoxication. This mixture is used externally for headache, neuralgia, &c. The juice of the fresh leaves is used as a family medicine in fevers, acting as an anti-periodic, for infants, dose 5-10 drops in water or mother's milk. It is also prescribed in affections of the chest and during dentition. In Bengal, it is given as a tonic after parturition.

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​PLATE Xo. 922.

​ ​PLATE No. 923.

​PLATE No. 923.

​PLATE No. 924

​PLATE No. 925.

​Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Plates Vol 5).djvu/306 ​Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Plates Vol 5).djvu/307 ​PLATE No. 926

​Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Plates Vol 5).djvu/312 ​Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Plates Vol 5).djvu/313 ​PLATE No. 927.

​PLATE No 928.

A-CEDEUS LIBANI, BARBEL.

B-CEDRUS DBODARA, LOUD.

O— ABIES WEBBIANA, LINDL.