Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Irideæ

N. 0. IRIDEÆ.

1255. Iris ensata, Thunb., h.f.b.l, vi, 272.

Vern. : — Irisa, sosun (H.) ; Tesma (Bhote) ; Krishun, unarjal, marjal (Kashmir).

Habitat: — Common on the temperate N.W Himalaya and Kashmir, in damp places ; often grows in gardens.

Root-stock stout, prostrate and creeping. Stems tufted, short, or l½-2ft., stout or slender ; sheaths fibrous. Leaves l-2ft. by ¼-⅓in., linear, rigid, grooved, glaucous. Spathes 3-4in., 1-3-fid ; valves lanceolate, green. Flowers pedicelled, lilac. Perianth tube 0. Sepals neither crested nor bearded, blade 1½-2 by ½-¾in. rhomboidly ovate, obtuse, entire, shorter than the claw. Petals oblanceolate, erect, ¼in. broad. Ovary lin., cylindric style ; arms lin. linear ; tip acutely 2-fid, crests large, deltoid. Capsule 1½-3in. by ½-⅔in., 6-ribbed, beaked, ribs rounded. (J. D. Hooker.) Use :-— It is said to be used medicinally. Further information is required.

1256. I. nepalensis, Don. h.f.b.i., vi., 273.

Vern. : — Chalnumdar, sosan, shoti, chiluchi (Pb. and U. P. Himalayan names.)

Habitat :— Western and Eastern Himalaya.

Root-stock stout, prostrate and creeping, with densely fibrous sheaths and copious, fleshy, finger-like roots. Stem ½-lft. Leaves linear, 6in. long at flowering time, elongating to 24 by ¼in., streaked with purple lines and dots. Spathes 1-3-fid, 1½-2in. long, outer valves thin, green, persistent ; pedicels very short. Perianth-tube slender, 1½in., limb 1-1½in., pale lilac; blade of sepals oblong, half an inch broad, as long as the claw ; crests narrow, yellow. Petal oblong, ⅓in. broad. Style arms lin. and less ; crests large-toothed. Capsule oblong, 3-gonous, with broad, flat sides and a long slender beak, l-l½in., enclosed in the persistent spathes (J. D. Hooker.)

Uses : — The root is described as having properties similar to costus, and appears to have been regarded by both Hindus and Arabs as a kind of costus. * * * Iris root is considered by Mahometan hakims to be deobstruent, aperient, diuretic, especially useful in removing bilious obstructions. It is also used externally as an application to small sores and pimples. From the large number of diseases in which this drug is recommended, it would appear to be regarded as a panacea. (Pharmacogr. Ind. III. 452.)

1257. I. kumaonensis, Wall., h.f.b.i., vi. 274.

Vern. :— Piáz, karkar, tezma (Pb.).

Habitat: — Temperate and Alpine N.-W. Himalaya.

A dwarf species. Root-stock stout, prostrate and creeping. Stems 2-12in., crowded ; outer basal sheaths fibrous. Leaves linear, 12-14 by ⅓in. Spathes 2-3in., 1-fid ; valves lanceolate, ventricose. Pedicels very short. Flower-heads solitary. Perianth-tube 2-2⅓n. long, limb 1½-2in., bright lilac. Blade of sepals ¾in. broad, spreading, cuneate, obovate, as long as the bearded claw, blotched with darker lilac ; beard of the claw of yellow tipped hairs on a white crest ; blade of petals erect, ½in. broad, oblong. Style arms ¾in. long ; crests deltoid, acute. Capsule l-2in., ellipsoid or sub-globose beaked, trigonous, angle obtuse. Don describes the sepals as blood-red, with black-purple spots. (J. D. Hooker.)

Use : — In Chumba, the root and the leaves are given in fever. (Stewart.)

1258. Crocus sativus, Linn., h.f.b.l, vi., 276.

Sans. : — Kunkuma.

Vern. :— Kesar Jáfrán (B.) ; Kesar, záfran (H.) ; Sarfran, keshar, (Bomb.) ; Kungumapu (Tam.) ; Kunkum, apave (Tel.);

Habitat : —Cultivated in Kashmir.^[1] Native of the south of Europe. The best saffron comes to Bombay from Spain. J. D. Hooker has the following note: — " The Kashmir saffron is regarded by Royle as a variety of that cultivated in England, distinguished by the very dark violet-blue flowers, yellow anthers and brick-red stigmas, but this accords exactly with the common form, figured by Bentley and Trimen." A perennial herb, with a root-stock in the form of a sheathed corm. Stem 0. Sheaths of corms closely reticulate, Corms large, globular, depressed. Leaves radical, long, slender, grass-like channeled above, white beneath, the edges turned back, fringed, and the lower portion of the leaf-bundle surrounded by sheaths of thin, translucent, whitish tissue. Flowers fragrant, solitary, or in bundles, enclosed in a 2-valved spathe, embracing the scape. Flowers violet, marked with lighter, autumnal, appearing with the leaves. Perianth large, tube very long, slender, funnel-shaped ; limb sub-equally 6-lobed, in 2 series ; the six segments equal in form and almost in size, but the inner ones are invariably somewhat shorter than the outer, concave, narrow, oblong. Throat of tube bearded. Stamens attached to the base of outer segments, the filaments free ; anthers yellow. Ovary hidden between the bases of the leaves, under ground, egg-shaped ; style thread-like, branching into 3 style-arms, i.e., stigmas exserted, orange-red, sub-clavate ; tips entire or lobulate. (These stigmas constitute the saffron of commerce). Capsule spindle-shaped ; seeds roundish (Step and Watson's Favourite Flowers of Gardens and Green-house, Vol. IV, page 553, London 1897).

Uses :— As a medicine, it is used in fevers, melancholia, and enlargement of the liver. It has also stimulant and stomachic properties, is highly thought of as a remedy for catarrhal affections of children, and is used in certain Indian dishes to give them a color. Mullahs (priests) make a kind of ink with this substance with which they write charms. (Dr. Emerson). Formerly regarded as anti-spasmodic and emmenagogue ; employed at present chiefly as a coloring and flavouring agent. (Ph.Ind.).

1259. Belamcanda Chinensis, Leman., h.f.b.i., vi., 277.

Syn. : — Pardanthus chinensis, Ker.

Habitat : — Very doubtfully wild in the Himalaya ; cultivated all over India ; a native of China.

Root-stock creeping, stem erect ; leafy. Leaves ensiform ; equitant. Inflorescence branched ; sheaths membranous ; spathes several-fid, subscarious ; bracts scarious ; flowers pedicelled. Perianth-tube very short ; segments oblong, spreading, subequal. Stamens inserted at the base of perianth ; filaments filiform, anthers linear basifixed. Ovary obovoid. Style filiform ; arms elongate ; tips reniform, stigmatic. Capsule obovoid, membranous, loculicidal ; valves reflexed, leaving the seed-bearing axis persistent and free. Seeds subglobose ; testa lax, shining, fleshy within. (J. D. Hooker).

Uses: — Loureiro states that the roots are used medicinally in Cochin-China, and that they have aperient and resolvent properties and purify the blood of gross humors, being specially useful in Cynanche. According to Rheede, it is used as an alexipharmic in Malabar, being given to those who have been bitten by the cobra, and to cattle who have fed upon poisonous plants.

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↑ The Crocus sativus is the only plant grown in Kashmir the stigmata of which compose hay saffron. The famous saffron fields are situated in the vicinity of Pampur, on a plain fully 50 feet above the valley. The bulbs grow on soil said to have been specially imported for the purpose. In dry seasons the produce averages nearly a ton quantity. Some 1500 lbs. of saffron are exported yearly from Kashmir to Ladakh. The bulbs are planted out in June, and the stigmata are collected in October. It tinges the saliva yellow. Pereira makes one grain of good saffron to contain the stigmata and styles of nine flowers, so that the formation of an ounce would require 4,320 flowers. The four stations for saffron cultivation, called " Warewas," are flat treeless tablelands, on the borders of the hills, 50 to 150 feet higher than the Kashmir Valley, which is 5,200 feet above the sea-level. They are little, if at all, irrigated. The soil is a stiff clay. Dr. Downes has been informed that saffron has been successfully cultivated in the gardens of the city of Kashmir. He does not think a special soil needed for cultivation of Crocus sativus. In a hopeful experiment of this kind at Alwar, near Delhi, Mr. Landseer started bulb-growing on earth brought in barrels from Kashmir. But in the second year the five beds of bulbs had increased to nine, and as there was no further import of Kashmir, earth, native soil had to be used, and with success. In Kashmir the C. sativus is cultivated on raised parterres, well drained and carefully weeded, though Dr. Downes believes not irrigated. (Ph. J. 9-7 1881 p. 9).

[1] The Crocus sativus is the only plant grown in Kashmir the stigmata of which compose hay saffron. The famous saffron fields are situated in the vicinity of Pampur, on a plain fully 50 feet above the valley. The bulbs grow on soil said to have been specially imported for the purpose. In dry seasons the produce averages nearly a ton quantity. Some 1500 lbs. of saffron are exported yearly from Kashmir to Ladakh. The bulbs are planted out in June, and the stigmata are collected in October. It tinges the saliva yellow. Pereira makes one grain of good saffron to contain the stigmata and styles of nine flowers, so that the formation of an ounce would require 4,320 flowers. The four stations for saffron cultivation, called " Warewas," are flat treeless tablelands, on the borders of the hills, 50 to 150 feet higher than the Kashmir Valley, which is 5,200 feet above the sea-level. They are little, if at all, irrigated. The soil is a stiff clay. Dr. Downes has been informed that saffron has been successfully cultivated in the gardens of the city of Kashmir. He does not think a special soil needed for cultivation of Crocus sativus. In a hopeful experiment of this kind at Alwar, near Delhi, Mr. Landseer started bulb-growing on earth brought in barrels from Kashmir. But in the second year the five beds of bulbs had increased to nine, and as there was no further import of Kashmir, earth, native soil had to be used, and with success. In Kashmir the C. sativus is cultivated on raised parterres, well drained and carefully weeded, though Dr. Downes believes not irrigated. (Ph. J. 9-7 1881 p. 9).

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