Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/307

Sans. : — Mayura Sikha.

Vern. : — Kokan, pîla-murghka, lál-murghka (H.) ; Mawal, taji khoros, bostan afraz, kanju, dhurá-drâ (Pb.) ; Lál-murga, huldi-murga (B.) ; Erra-kodi-utta-tota-kuru ; Kodi-juttu-totakura (Tel.).

Habitat: — Throughout India, cultivated, and as an escape.

An annual erect glabrous herb. Stem tall, branching. Leaves ovate lanceolate, sometimes 9in. long and 3in. broad, sometimes varying from linea to ovate, acute or acuminate ; spikes cylindric, very stout. Flowers densely imbricate 1/6-¼in. Style filiform, lengthening after fruiting. Utricle acute ; dehiscence circumciss.

Uses : — The flowers are considered astringent, they are used in cases of diarrhœa, and in excessive menstrual discharges (Stewart.) The seeds are demulcent and useful in painful micturition, cough and dysentery. (U. C. Dutt.)

The seeds of C. cristafca, Linn, afford a greenish-brown, drying oil, with an iodine value of 126.3. The insoluable fatty acids melt between 27° and 29°.

Regarding the genus Amarantus, Sir George Watt, in his Comml. Prod, of India, p. 62, writes —

{{smaller|" There may be said to be two or perhaps three distinct groups of amaranths that are of economic value to the people of India. These are the species cultivated in gardens and mainly, if not exclusively, as Pot-herbs : second, the wild species that are eaten as pot-herbs or Medicines : and third, the forms cultivated in fields and exclusively so as edible Grains. The last mentioned are by far, the most valuable and hence may be taken up in greater detail than the others. But in passing it may be observed that the Indian species of this genus seem to be sadly wanting careful study and revision."""

Sans. : — Tanduliya. 1