Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/454

Habitat: --Evergreen forests of the Western ghâts, from the Concan southwards,

A tall ever-green tree, attaining 200ft. Wood moderately hard ; sapwood white ; heart wood yellowish-brown, durable, seasons well. Pores large, sometimes subdivided, often filled with a white substance. Medullary rays fine to moderately broad, wavy very distinct, but distant, bent where try meet the pores (Gamble.) Young shoots, petioles, peduncles, stipules, midribs, and main nerves appressedly hispid with long tawny hairs. Leaves 6-9 by 4~6in., broadly ovate or elliptic (rarely obovate), subacute, coriaceous, entire, smooth, and when adult glabrous except on the midrib and nerves beneath, slightly narrowed to the base ; main nerves about 10 pairs, prominent beneath ; petioles stout, ½-7/8in. long ; stipules nearly lin. long, lanceolate. Flowers on axillary pedunculate receptacles ; the male receptacles narrowly cylindric, at first erect or ascending, afterwards pendulous, 4-6in. long and about ¼in. in diam. ; the female receptacles erect, 4½ by 3½in. Male flowers : Sepals 2, united below. Stamen 1 ; anther exserted, ovate. Receptacle scales (bracteoles) chaffy, not peltate. FEMALE FLOWERS : Perianth tubular, confluent below with the receptacle. Fruit size of a lemon, echinate, the spines (free apices of anthocarps) about ¼in. long, cylindric, straight, hispid, perforate at the apex for the filiform style, edible Seeds ½-¾in. long, ovoid. (Cooke.)

Uses : — The dry leaves and juice together with Zodory and Camphor are applied to buboes and swelled testicles. (Rheede.)

The dried juice breaks with a resinens fracture, is only partly soluble in alcohol, wholly soluble in benzol and petroleum ether, (Pharmacogr. Ind. III. 355.)

Sans. : — Panasa.

Vern. : — Kánthál (B. and Ass.) ; Kathal, chakki, panasa, panas (H) ; Kanthar (Santal) ; Poros (Kol.) ; Panasa (Uriya) ; Phanas (Mar. and Bomb.) ; Pilá, pilápazham (Tam.) ; Panasapandu, pansa, véru-panasa (Tel.) ; Halsu, heb-helsu, halsina (Kan.) ; Teprong (Garo).

Eng. :— The Jack-fruit tree.