Indian Medicinal Plants/Natural Order Meliaceæ
N. 0. MELIACEÆ.
260. Turrœa villosa, Benn. h.f.b.l, i. 542.
Vern : — Kâpur-bhendi (Bom.).
Habitat : — Western Peninsula ; on the Anamally and Mahableshwar hills ; Guzerat at Dolca. A large or small shrub more or less pubescent with short hairs. Leaves thin, pubescent, ovate, acute or shortly acuminate, acute or obtuse at base, entire ; in flower usually about 1½in., in fruit about 2-4 by 2½-1¼in. Petioles ¼in. long, pubescent. Flowers sweet-scented, white, axillary 1-1½in. long, in few — flowered clusters or short racemes ; peduncles short, pedicles ¾in. long, hairy, tomentose. Calyx short, cup-shaped, pubescent outside, teeth acute. Petals yellow, linear, longer than the Staminal — tube, free, glabrous. Staminal-tube glabrous, slender, ¾-1in. long, dilated at top, teeth subulate, short. Anthers ½ as long. Ovary 5-celled. Style long, exserted, Stigma capitate, urn-shaped. Capsule sub-globose, glabrate, ½in. diam. (Talbot). Seeds not winged (W.P. Hiern).
Western Peninsula, on the Ghats, from the Concan southward ; Mahableshwar, North Canara. Gujrat at Dolra (Dholara).
Use : — " The root is used as an application to fistulas, and is administered internally in black leprosy" (Dymock).
261. Naregamia alata, W. and A. h.f.b.l, i. 542.
Vern. : — Kâpur-bhendi, pit-wel, tinpâna (Mar.) ; Trifolio (Goa) ; Kanu-dida (Kan.) ; Nela naregam (Malay.).
Habitat :— Western Peninsula or the Western Ghats, from the Concan southwards.
Parts used : — The roots and stems.
A small, glabrous and shining undershrub. Branches erect or decumbent, from a few inches to 2ft. long. Leaves trifoliate, 1-4in. long. Leaflet sessile, cuneate obovate, quite entire, or obtusely lobed, terminal leaflet rather longer than the lateral ones, and about the length of the common petiole. Common petioles winged. Flowers 1-1¼in. long, quite white, longer than the peduncles. Petals 5. Calyx 5 cleft, small campanulate. Staminal-tube elongated, inflated above, 10 crenate at the mouth. Anthers 10, terminal, shortly oblong, inserted at the crenatures of the mouth, exserted, setaceous-apiculate. Disk annular. Ovary 3-celled, loculicidally 3-valved. Style yellow. Seeds 2 in each cell ; albumen fleshy, embryo foliaceous. Western Peninsula on the Western Ghats from the Concan southward.
Use : — " This is the country ipecacuanha of the Portuguese at Goa. The drag consists of the creeping root, with the slender stems attached to it, the leaves having been stripped off. It has a somewhat pungent, aromatic odour, but hardly any taste ; and is given as an emetic, in doses of from 12 to 18 grains. In Southern India it is used as a remedy for rheumatism. In the Concan the Hindus use the leaves and stems in decoction with bitters and aromatics as a remedy for biliousness. In the Southern Concan it is called pit-yel or pitpâpra, on account of its well-marked, emetic and bile-expelling properties ; it is the best indigenous emetic on this side of India" (Dymock).
It has recently been tried in Madras in acute dysentery and also as an emetic and expectorant, with results similar to those of ipecacuanha, given in equal doses (Pharmacog. Ind.).
An ethereal extract contained 0*3 per cent, of Hooper's alkaloid naregamiane, 2.0 of wax, 2.5 of resin, and 0.9 of fatty oil and cloring matter. The wax melted 58° had a sp. gr. 0.91, acid number 5.9 (Chloroform solution), 6.1 (alcoholic solution), ether number 21.1, and saponification number 27.0. When the alcoholic solusion was poured into water, a resin was precipitated, whilst in the solution there still remained a substance which readily reduced Fehling's solution (sugar). The aqueous extract had a faint acid reaction and gave a blue coloration with iodine ; a crystalline compound, which is probably asparagine (Hooper), was also isolated and the extract contained proteids, gum, and pectin substances but not tannin. The drug left 5.73— 7.1 per cent, of ash, that of the wood being 1.79 and that of the bark 5.97 ; 5.9 per cent, of dry residue was obtained from the alcoholic and 12.3 from the aqueous extract.
J. Ch. S. Vol : LXXX. (Pt. II of 1901) pp. 70-71.
252. Melia azadirachta, Linn, h.f.b.i., i. 544. Roxb. 368.
Syn. :— Azadirachta indica, Adr. Juss.
Sans.— The bark :— Nîmba-valkalam, Nîmba-mûlam-valkalam. The fruit :— Nimba-phalam. The oil :— Nîmba-tailam, The flower :— Nîmba-pushpam. The leaf :— Nîmba-patram, The juice : — Nîmba-niryâsam. Vern. : — Of the bark — The Nîm or Margosa bark, Eng. Nimbki-chhâl, Hind. Nim-ki-chhâl, Duk. Vémbu-pattai, véppam- pattai, Tam. Vépa-patta, vépa-chettu-patta, Tel. Véppa-tôli, ariya-véppa-tôli, Malyal. Bevina-marapette, Kan. Nim-sâl, Beng. Limbacha-patta, Mah. Limba-nu-châl, Guz. Kohumbapotta, nim- bugaha-potta, Cing. Tama-bin-akhâv, Burm. Pôste-azâd-darakhte- hindî, Pôste-nîb, Pers. Of the root-bark — The Nîm or Margosa root-bark, Eng. Nimb-kî-jar-kî-chhâl, Hind. Nîm-kî-jar-ki- Chhâl, Duk. Vémbu-vér-pattai, veppam-verpattai, Tam. Vépa- veru-patta, Tel. Véppa-mûlam-tôli, Malyal. Bévina-béru-patte, Kan. Nîm -shikar-sâl, Beng. Limba-cha-mûli-patta, Mah. Limba- nujad-châl, Guz. Kohumba-mûl-potta, nimbu- mûl-potta, Cing. Tama-mi-akhâv, Bur. Pôste-bêkhe-nîb, pôsteâzâd-darakhte-hindi, Pers . Of the fruit — The Nim or Margosa fruit, Eng. Nimb or Nimb-ka-phal, Hind. Nim-bachya-ninboliyan Duk Veppam- paramvembu-pazham, Tarn. Vepa-pandu, vepa-chettu-pandu, Tel. Veppa-kaya, ariya veppa-kaya, Ma^aLBevina-mara-hannu, Kan. Nim-chapandu, Mali. Nim-phal, 5e??^.Limbanu-phal Guz. Nimba-gadi, Kohumba-ka, Ging. Tama-asi, Bur. Barre-nib, Barre- azad-darakhte-hindi, Pers. Of the nut — The Nimor Margosa nut, Eng. Nimb-ki-guthliyan, Hind. Nim-gutliyan, Duk.Yemhu- kottai, veppam-kottai, Tarn. Vepa-kottai, Tel. Veppa-kuru, ariya-veppa-anti, Malyal. Bevina-gotti, Kan. Nim-gotli, Beng. Limba-cha-antholi, Mah. Limba-nu-gotli, Guz. Kohumba-atta, nimba-kotta, Ging. Tamabin-zi, Bur. Tukh?rctf-azad-clarakhte- hindi, tukhme-nib, Pers. Of the oil — Nim or Margosa oil, Eng. Nimb-ka-tel, Hind. Nimb-achen-tel, Duh. Vembu-enney, Veppamenney, Tarn. Vepa-mine, Tel. Veppa-enna, ariya- veppu- enna, Malyal. Bevana-yanne, bevana-mara-yanne, Kan. Nim- tail, Beng. Limba-cha-tela, Mah. Limbanu tel, Guz. Kohumba- tel, nimba-tel, Ging. Tama-si, tamabin-si, Bur. Roghane- azad-darakhte-hiudi, Roghane-nib, Pers. Of the flowers — The Nim or Margosa flowers, Eng. Nimb-ke-phul, nim-ke-phul, Hind. Nim-ke-phul, Duk. Nambu-pu, veppam-pu, Tarn. Vepa- puvvu, Tel. Vappapu, ariya-veppa-pu, Malyal. Bevina-huvvu, bevina-mara-huvvu, Kan. Nim-phul, Beng. Limbache-phula, Mah. Limba-nu- phula, Guz. Kohumba-mal, nimba-mal, Ging. Tama-poen, Bur. Gule-azad-darakhte-hindi, gule-nib, Pers. Of the leaves — The Nîm or Margosa leaves, Eng. Nîmb-ké-pât, nîm-kâ-patta, Hind. Nîm-ké-patté, Duh. Vémbu-ilai,véppam- ilai, Tam. Vépa-âku, Tel. Veppa ela, ariya-véppa-ela, Malyal. Bévina-yale, bévina-mara-yale, Kan. Nimpâtâ, Beng. Limba,- châ-pâne, Mah. Limba-un-pândru, Guz. Kohumba-kola, nîmba-kola, Cing. Tamayo-e, Bur. Barge-ázâd-darakhte-hindî, barge-nîb, Pers. Of the gum — The Nîm or Margosa gum, Eng. Nîmb-kâ-gônd, nîmb-kâ-gônd, Hind. Nim-bâchk-gônd, Duk. Vémbu-pishin, veppam-pishin, Tâm. Vépapi-sunu, Tel. Veppa- pasha, ariya-vêppa-pasha, Malyal. Bévina-gôndu, bévina-mara- gôndu, Kan. Trimen — " in Ceylon, in Sinhalase, Kohmba, Tamil, âVémpu." Nîm-lâsa, Beng. Limbâ-che-gônda, Mah. Limba-nu-gûndar, Guz. Kohumba-melliyam, nimba melliyam, Cing. Tama-sî, tama- bin-sî, Bur. Samaghe-nîb, Samaghe- âzâd-darakhte-hindî, Pers. Of the toddy — The Nîm or Margosa toddy, Eng. Nîmb-kâ-nîrâ, Nîmba-kâ-nîrâ, Hind. Nîmba-chaâ- nîrâ, Duk. Véppam-kallu, Tam. Vepa-kallu, Tel.
Vern. : — J. Indraji (Porebunder and Guj.) Limbdo. (Marathi) Kadu Nimb ; Nimba; (Hindi) Hiva Nim. Vempu (Tamil); Kohomba (Sinhalese).
Habitat : — Common throughout India.
A tall tree, with a straight trunk and long spreading branches. Altogether a very handsome, graceful, shady tree in the Deccan and the Concan, 40-50ft Bark grey, with numerous scattered tubercles. Wood hard, close-grained ; sapwood grey, heart-wood red. Young parts glabrous- Leaves 8-15in., rather crowded near the ends of branches, simply pinnate. Rachis 6-9 inches, says Trimen, glabrous. Leaflets 2-8 pair and alternate, 1-3 by ½-1½in., 9-15 pair, says Hiern ; opposite or alternate, very shortly stocked ; lanceolate, falcate, very unequal-sided, oblique at base, coarsely dentate-serrate, glabrous, pale green. Flowers small, in lax, narrow, axillary panicles, 5-8in. long ; white, sweet-scented. Sepal rounded, finely ciliate ; staminal-tube dilated above, hairy within, teeth truncate, trifid, recurved. Anthers small, erect. Ovary 3-celled. Drupe oblong-ovoid ⅝-¾in., blunt, smooth. Fruit greenish yellow when ripe. Pulp scanty ; endocarp bony. Seed solitary. Planted everywhere in Ceylon ; Southern and Western India. Wild in the sub-Himalaya bract, Burma, cultivated in Dun and Shaharanpur Districts, common along Siwalik Hills.
Parts used : — Every part of this plant, except the wood, is used in medicine, namely, the bark, root- bark, young fruit, nuts or seeds, oil, flowers, leaves, gum and toddy.
" Physiological Actions. — The physiological actions of all the parts of this plant employed as drugs may be arranged as follows : —
" The root-bark, bark and young fruit — tonic and antiperiodic.
" The oil, nuts, and leaves — local stimulant, insecticide, and antiseptic.
" The flowers — stimulant-tonic and stomachic.
" The gum— demulcent-tonic.
" The toddy-— refrigerant, nutrient and alterative tonic.
" Therapeutic Uses. — The bark, root-bark, and young fruit are useful in some slight cases of intermittent fever and general debility. The root-bark is more active and speedy in its action than the bark and young fruit. The margosa oil has proved itself a useful local remedy in some chronic forms of skin diseases and ulcers, by stimulating and exciting a healthy action. Applied to foul and sloughing ulcers, it retards the sloughing process to some extent, prevents the production of maggots, and dislodges them if already produced. The oil is also a very useful adjunct to some other and stronger remedies, as chaulmugra oil, as already mentioned in my remarks under the latter drug. The dry nuts of M. Azadirachta possess almost the same medical properties as the oil, but they require to be bruised and mixed with, water or some other liquid before they can be applied to the skin or ulcers ; and their use, is therefore, attended with so much, inconvenience that they cannot be resorted to at all, except in those places where the oil is not procurable. A strong decoction of the fresh leaves is a slight antiseptic, and is useful like a weak carbolic lotion in washing wounds and ulcers, and syringing out the vagina in the after-treatment of parturition, &c. When the pustules of small or cow-pox burst and begin to ulcerate, the Hindu medical practitioners invariably recommend the application of the paste of the fresh margosa leaves two or three times in the twenty-four hours, and speak highly of its healing power. As the paste is a slight stimulant and antiseptic, I thought the supposition of Vythians is not without foundation, and therefore watched some of the cases under its use and found the result to be good in all the slight and ordinary cases. In some severe forms of ulceration from small-pox, however, it proved quite useless, as naturally expected. On the whole, the use of the paste is quite justifiable in many slight and ordinary cases of ulceration from the pustules of small or cow-pox. The aroma of the fresh or recently dried leaves is sufficient to prevent the attack of insects, and they are therefore often placed in books and clothes by the natives of this country ; but they are much inferior to camphor in this respect.
" The flowers are useful in some cases of atonic dyspepsia and general debility. The gum being bestowed with a slight tonic action in addition to its demulcent property, it is a better auxiliary to other remedies than Gum Arabic and feronia gum in catarrhal and other affections, particularly when the latter are accompanied by great debility. The toddy of the margosa tree appears to be of great service in some chronic and long-standing cases of leprosy and other skin diseases, consumption, atonic dyspepsia and general debility, and although I have not prescribed it myself, I am acquainted with several persons who praise the drug very highly from personal use and observation. It is, however, extremely scarce, and this is a great drawback to its use and adoption into general practice.
"Preparations. — Of the root-bark, bark and young fruit — Decoction, tincture and powder. Decoction : Take of the inner layer of the root-bark, cut into small pieces, four ounces ; water, two pints ; boil on a slow fire till the liquid is reduced to one pint, and strain while hot. The decoction of the bark is prepared in precisely the same manner, and in both cases the fresh bark is preferable to the dry and old one. In preparing the decoction of the fruit, they should be selected when they are very young or before attaining half of their natural size ; cut into small slices and dry in the sun ; and then their proportion to the water and the method of boiling and straining are exactly the same as in the decoction of root-bark. Tincture : Take of the inner layer of the root-bark or bark, in coarse powder, four ounces ; alcohol or proof spirit, one pint ; macerate for seven days in a closed vessel with occasional agitation, press, filter and add more spirit, if necessary, to make one pint. Powder : The inner layer of the root-bark or bark, or the dry young fruit, may be reduced to powder, passed through a fine sieve and kept in a closed vessel. Of the leaves, nuts and oil — Decoction, paste or poultice and solution. Decoction : Take of the fresh leaves, four ounces ; water, two pints; boil till the liquid is reduced to half of its quantity, and strain when cool. Paste or poultice : Bruise and rub the fresh leaves with hot or cold water in a stone mortar, till they are reduced to a soft and pulpy mass. Solution : Bruise and rub the kernel of the nuts with cocoanut oil, water or some other liquid, in a mortar till it becomes well mixed and thin. The oil is either applied by itself or in combination with other drugs, as chaulmugra oil, &c. Of the flowers — Infusion : Take of the flowers, three ounces ; hot water, one pint or just sufficient to cover the flowers ; infuse in a covered vessel for an hour and strain. Of the gum — Mucilage, which is prepared in the same way as the corresponding preparation of the Indian Gum Arabic, under the head of Preparation, in the article Acacia Arabica. Of the toddy — There is no preparation of the sap or margosa toddy, it being always used alone.
" Doses— -Of the decoction of the root-bark, bark or young fruit, from one-and-a-half to three fluid ounces ; of the tincture of the root-bark or stem bark, from one to three fluid drachms ; and of the powder of any of the above drugs, from one to two drachms; three or four times in the twenty-four hours. Of the infusion of flowers, from one-and-a-half, to three fluid ounces ; of the mucilage of the gum, from one to two fluid ounces ; three or four times in the twenty-four hours
" Remarks — No less than nine parts of the margosa nîm tree are employed in medicine, and I am not aware of any other plant which produces so many drugs.
" The nim or margosa to-day is an important therapeutic agent and requires a special notice. The toddy or sap is yielded either spontaneously or extracted artificially. In the former case, a clear and colorless liquid begins to flow in a very thin stream or continuous drops, from two or three and sometimes more parts of the plant, and continues to do so from three to seven weeks. The trunk and large branches and roots are the parts from which the flow takes place through very small and recent cracks or fissures, and the quantity of the liquid discharged in the 24 hours from the whole tree varies from two to eight bottles according to its size. Of the several margosa trees in Madras and its vicinity known to yield occasionally the sap under discussion, there was one in Mylapore which enjoyed the greatest repute in this respect. This plant was in a small street, at the southern end of the above village, and died about 15 or 16 years ago. It was a pretty large tree, about 50 or 60 years old, and produced the sap every 3rd or 4th year. After the last or fourth occasion, the trunk became rapidly hollow and the plant died soon after this. On each occasion, before the sap began to flow, there was always, for three or four days, a distinct and peculiar rushing or pumping noise of a liquid within the trunk, which did not entirely cease till the discharge actually commenced from three or four parts of the plant.
"The above phenomenon being a sure forerunner of the flow of the sap, as just explained, the owner of the plant (Faiz Ahmed Khan) always gave notice of its occurrence to all his neighbours and many other persons, with a view to be prepared to avail themselves of this extremely rare medicine if they were in need of it. The fame of the sap as a curative agent was certainly so great that the plant was surrounded by people morning and 'evening, who bought and drank the drug very eagerly. The price of it was very variable, but generally between 4 and 10 annas per bottle, and at one time it rose to a rupee for the same quantity. The sap was more or less bitterish in taste, with a slight and peculiar aroma of the nîm tree and was never known to ferment or possess any intoxicating property. The word toddy is, therefore, not correctly applicable to this liquid drug. I have already mentioned the diseases which were most benefited by its use, under the heading of ' Therapeutic Uses.'
" The nîm trees which yield the sap artificial^ seem to be more rare, for I have heard only of three or four of such plants. All these are said to have been pretty young and large trees, and were found near water or on the banks of nullas or water- courses which were constantly wet. The air passing through nîm trees is thought to be highly beneficial to health, and hence the practice among the natives of planting nîm trees near their dwelling-houses. Many Europeans even believe in this, especially in the North- Western Provinces and Oudh, and frequently cite villages surrounded with nîm trees as proverbially free from fever, while adjoining villages have suffered severely. Dr. C. Macnamara advocates the use of the watery extract of dry leaves in leprosy (MOODEEN SHERIFF)."
The seeds are eaten as a substitute for almonds (Trimen.)
The dried leaves powdered are applied locally to the anus of children suffering from intestinal worms (B. D. Basu).
The Therapeutic uses of Neem— By Major D. B. Spencer, I. M. S.—
I have used the leaves, bark, and oil of Neem. All parts of the plant are medicinal.
1. Leaves. A handful of leaves, crushed and flattened, will make an excellent poultice for boils and sores ; its action is stimulant and antiseptic.
The dried leaves I have used to preserve books and clothes from vermin.
Internally, two ounces of fresh leaves, made into an infusion, with a pint of boiling water, form an exceedingly useful bitter vegetable tonic and alterative. It has a marked action upon the liver— the stools often become brilliant yellow in colour after its use.
This infusion is also valuable in chronic malarial fever, although not so efficacious as the oil. In chronic syphilitic affections it acts as a powerful alterative. I have used it also in leprosy, but, except perhaps in one case, it had no specific effect upon the disease. 2. The bark has astringent, antiperiodic, and alterative properties, and may be used as an infusion in the same way as the leaves.
3. The oil, I think, is the most active medicinal part of the plant. Externally, it has stimulant, antiseptic, and alterative properties and is very useful in chronic syphilitic sores and indolent ulcers, which show no tendency to heal. If the effect of the pure oil be found too stimulating, it should be diluted with equal parts of some bland oil or even a weaker strength may be necessary.
The oil is also extremely useful as a parasiticide in various cutaneous affections, such as ringworm, scabies, and others, where the presence of any kind of parasite may be suspected. It rapidly destroys the parasite and induces a healthy action. When the parasite is in the deeper layers of the skin, it will be necessary to rub the oil well in for perhaps 10 minutes or more at a time. I have used this oil in mange in dogs and found it useful.
Internally, the oil in 5-10 minim doses, once or twice a day, is useful in chronic malarial fevers, in syphilis, leprosy and other diseases where an alterative action is indicated. I have used it internally for the last 12 years, chiefly in chronic malarial fevers, and have no hesitation in saying that it is a drug of undoubted value in these fevers. Vide my "Record of Indian Fevers," 1899, published, by Messrs. Thacker, Spink & Co.
In the Indian Forester for June 1913, pp. 264-265, Mr. T. P. Ghose, B. Sc, Assistant to Forest Chemist, Dehra Dun, writes : —
NEEM TODDY.
In the December issue of the Indian Forester, Mr. Allen brought to the notice of its readers the fact that leprous persons eagerly take the exudation of Neem as a remedy against the hateful malady. This belief is of very old standing, and has in fact originated from the old medical literature of the Hindus. There can be no doubt about the fact that the leaves and bark, and *also the oil out of the seeds, have specific medicinal properties. Dr. Watt in his Dictionary of Economic Products has collected opinions of various medical men, both Europen and Indian, about the medicinal properties of the different parts of this tree. From all these it can easily be gathered that the bark is a good febrifuge, and is especially useful in periodic fever, also in thirst and nausea. The leaves as well as the oil are very useful in skin diseases. They are also a germicide and an antiseptic. Since so many parts of this tree are medicinal, specially when some of them have specific action on the skin, it is but natural that people should ascribe some valuable medicinal properties to its spontaneous exudation. It is not every day that the Neem begins spontaneously to exude the toddy, and therefore the rarity of the occurrence adds a good deal to the importance of this product in popular estimation.
A sample of toddy received from Rai Bahadur Har Swarup, Conservator of Forests, Gwalior State, was chemically examined to find out its constituents and to ascertain whether there is any active principle that might produce the effects popularly ascribed to it. The toddy was a milk-like whitish emulsion with a pale yellow tinge. It was sweet in taste and possessed the peculiar aromatic odour of full ripe Neem fruits. On boiling and removing the precipitated albuminous matter, a limpid faintly yellow solution was obtained. Angle of rotation of this solution at 15°C was + 1L°C. Its specific gravity at the same temperature Avas 1*0-589.
The following is the general composition of the material :—
Moisture ... ... ... ... 86*56 per cen r -.
Proteids ... ... ... ... 0*36 „
Gums and colouring matter ... ... ... 6*17 ,.
Glucose (grape sugar) ... ... ... 2*99 .,
Sucrose (cane sugar) ... ... ... 3'5l ,,
Ash ... ... .. ... ... 0*41 „
Petroleum ether extracted from the dried solids of the toddy only a trace of fatty and resinous matter. Tests for alkaloidal and glucosidal principle were in the negative.
Qualitative analysis of the ash showed the presence of potassium, iron, aluminium, calcium and carbon dioxide in it.
From the above analysis it can easily be seen that the toddy cannot claim any special medicinal properties. It is, like all other toddies, a syrupy solution of sugar plus a little albuminous and gummy matter with the peculiar odour of ripe Neem fruits. The valuable active principle of Neem which is an alkaloid according to Cornish and a resinous body according to Broughton (vide Watt's Dictionary of Economic Products), is absent. Hence the Neem toddy can be said to be a cooling nutrient and stimulating tonic, but it does not seem to contain anything which can be said to be useful for leprosy or other skin-diseases.
Dr. Watt also mentions the tapping of Neem for its toddy. This is not a general practice, but if it can be successfully tapped, and if it is made available in large quantities, then it might be a fruitful source of country liquor or even alcohol, and in that case the tree might well be brought under the Excise Act.
This investigation was carried out under the instructions of the Forest Chemist.
263. M. azadarach, Linn, h.f.b.i., i. 544. Roxb, 369.
The English " Persian " Lilac.
Habitat. — Commonly cultivated in India and Burma ; wild in the Sub- Himalaya tract. Supposed to be indigenous in Baluchistan and the Jhelum valley in Kashmir (Brandis) and naturalized.
Syn. — Melia sempervirens, Sw. ; M. Bukayun, Royle.
Sanskrit. — Mahâanimba, himadruma, parvata-nimba-vriksha (Sans.) Vern. — Drek, bakain, bakâyan, betain, deikna, bakarja, mahanîb (Hind.); Ghorânim, mahâ-nîm, (Beng.) ; Gara nîm, (Kol); Thamaga (Assam) ; Bakaînû (Nepal) ; Bukaîn (N.-W. P.); Chein, kachen, bakain, dhek, drek, jek, seed = habbulbân (Pb.j ; Bakyâna, (Pushtu) ; Bakayun, drek (Sind.) Maha limbo, 'malla nîm muhli, (C. P.) ; Gourî-nîm, goulî-nîm (Dec ) ; Nimb, maha-lîmbo, drek, bakayan, wilayatî nîm (Bomb.) ; Limbara bakâna- nimb, wilayati-nimb (Mar.) ; Dek (Dun) ; Bakan limbodo (Guz.) ; Malai, vembu, malai-veppam (Tam.) ; Taraka vépa, makânîm, konda-vepa (Tel.) ; Bévu, chik bévu, hutchu bevu, kadbevinâmara, bettada-bevina (Kan.) ; Mullay vaempû (Malay.) ; Ta-ma- ka, ka-ma-ka (Burm.) ; Maha-nîmba, lunumîdella (Sing.); Habul-bân (Arab).
J. Indraji : — (Porbunder and Guj.) Bakân, Bakân-limbdo ; (Maráthi) Bakâyin ; (Hind.) Bakâyin.
English— The Persian Lilac, Indian lilac, or Bead tree.
A middle-sized, deciduous tree, young shoots and inflorescence sparsely clothed with deciduous stellate hairs, heartwood light red ; annual rings marked by a belt of large vessels. Pinnate, 3-4 pair, more or less opposite. Leaflets 3-12, ovat -lanceolate, more or less deeply serrate, sometimes lobed. Flowers lilac, with a strong honey-scent. Staminal-tube purple, ⅓in. long, teeth 20-30, linear ; anthers glabrous, shorter than, or as long as the teeth. Stigma clavate, 5-toothed. Drupe yellow, when ripe 3-4in. long.
Uses. — " Hindu writers on Materia Medica seem to have almost entirely neglected the Persian Lilac in favour of their own nîm. It has, however, long been used by the Arabs and Persians, who brought a knowledge of its virtues with them into India. They consider the root-bark, fruit, flowers, and leaves to be hot and dry, and to have deobstruent, resolvent, and alexipharmic properties. Thus, the flowers and leaves are applied as a poultice to relieve nervous headaches. The juice of the leaves, administered internally, is said to be anthelmintic, antilithic, diuretic, and emmenagogue, and is thought to relieve cold swellings, and expel the humors which give rise to them" (DYMOCK). In America, a decoction of the leaves has been employed in hysteria, and is believed to be astringent and stomachic. The leaves and bark are used internally and externally in leprosy and scrofula ; while a poultice of the flowers is believed to have vermicide properties and to be a valuable remedy in eruptive skin diseases. The fruit has poisonous properties, but is used in leprosy and scrofula, and is worn as a necklace to avert contagion. In the Punjab, the seeds are prescribed in rheumatism, and in Kangra they are pounded and mixed with apricots as an external application for the same disease. In Bombay, strings of the seeds are suspended over doors and verandahs during the prevalence of epidemics to avert the disease. The oil is said to possess similar properties to that of the nîm ; and, according to Ainslie, this species also yields a similar toddy. Emerson states that the gum is used as a remedy for splenic enlargement.
Several parts of the Persian Lilac are considerably employed in America. Thus, " the root bark has obtained a place in- the secondary list of the United States Pharmacopœia as an anthelmintic. It has a bitter nauseous taste, and yields its virtues to boiling water. It is administered in the form of decoction (4 ozs. of the fresh bark to two pints of water, boiled to one pint), of which the dose for a child is a tablespoonful every third hour, until it sensibly affects the bowels or stomach, or a dose may be given every morning or evening for several days and then be followed by a cathartic " (Pharmacop. Ind.). Moodeen Sheriff states that, after a careful trial of the above preparation, he has arrived at the conclusion that " if the root- bark is vermifuge at all, it is very weakly so."
" Other preparations have been used in America. The dried berries in whisky have been employed against ascarides, tapeworm and verminous diseases, and the pulp of the berries stewed in lard has been used with success against scald head. A fluid extract and syrup prepared from the bark have been recommended, the latter containing vanilla which is said to wholly disguise the bitter and disagreeable taste of the drug (Year Book of Pharmacy (1875), 375). A recent writer on the subject, Mr. Jacobs, states that, when prepared in March or April while the sap is ascending, unpleasant effects have been observed, such as stupor, dilatation of the pupil, &c, which symptoms, however, pass off without perceptible injury to the system. There appears little doubt that, if given in large, doses, the bark, leaves, and fruits are all toxic, producing narcotism followed by death. Dr. Burton Brown (Punjab Poisons) records a case in which a European girl ate the berries, became insensible and died. Descourtilz says that six to eight seeds cause nausea, spasm and choleraic symptoms, sometimes followed by death" (WATT).
Margosa Oil
This oil is obtained from the seeds of Melia uzedarach.
{{smaller|It has a Sp. Gr. of 0.9023 ; at 04°/40° ; Saponification number, 196.9 ; iodine number, 52. The oil is solid at the ordinary temperature.
264. M. dubia, Cav, h. f. b. l, i. 545.
Syn. : — M. Superba, Roxb ; M. Robusta, Roxb. 369.
Vern. : — Nimbara, limbada (Bomb.)
The fruit, kala khajur, kuáru khajur (Bomb.) ; Dingkur-long (Assam) ; Lapshi (Nepal) ; Kadu khajur (Guz.) ; Mallay vembu (Tam.) ; Bevu, letta-beru, kád-bevu, Karibevin, ara-bevu (Kan.)
Habitat : — Wild and cultivated in the Eastern and Western Peninsulas.
A very large handsome tree, deciduous, very fast-growing. Bark smooth, dark brown or dark purplish brown, thin. Wood soft, sapwood grey, heartwood reddish white. Young parts stellate-mealy. Leaves crowded, very large, l-3ft. or more, bi-or somewhat — tripinnate, pinnæ 3-6 pair, distant, opposite or nearly so ; leaflets 2-5 pair, in each pinna and a terminal one, stalked, oval or ovate, slightly oblique at base, acuminate, coarsely shallowly crenate, the lowest often again pinnate, glabrous ; rachis cylindric, glabrous, dilated at base. Corymbose panicles numerous, 4-8in. long. Peduncle axillary, stellate-scurfy. Calyx-segments lanceolate, acute, stellate-mealy. Petals white, linear-oblong, obtuse reflexed, stellate-mealy outside, pubescent within. Staminal-tube somewhat tapering, hairy within, teeth spreading, filiform ; anthers nearly sessile ; style long, stigma clavate, 5-toothed. Drupe ovoid, 1-1½in., smooth and shining, yellowish. Seeds solitary in each cell ; pointed, smooth, brown.
Part used :— The fruit.
Uses : —The pulp of the fruit has a bitter nauseous taste. It is a favourite remedy amongst the laboring classes for colic, half a fruit being the dose for an adult. It appears to have hardly any purgative properties, but is said to relieve the pain most effectively. In the Concan, the juice of the green fruit, with a third of its weight of sulphur, and an equal quantity of curds, heated together in a copper pot, is used as an application to scabies, and to sores infested with maggots (Dymock, 173.)
265. Sandoricum indicum, Cav., h.f.b.i., i. 553.
Vern. :— Thitto (Burm.) ; Santor (Malay).
Habitat: — Eastern Peninsula; from Rangoon, Tenasserim to Penang. Introduced into the Western Peninsula.
Trimen : —Sinhalese name— Lunu-midella. Tamil — Malal-Vêmpu.
An evergreen tree, with trifoliate, coriaceous leaves, attaining 60ft. Wood close-grained, moderately hard, medullary rays conspicuous on radial section. Branchlets, inflorescence and leaves velvety. Flowers yellow, in narrow axillary panicles. Staminal-tube 10-dentate, style articulate at base, clavate above, ending in a thickened ring, bearing five obtuse stigmatic lobes, fruit globose, 3in. diam., yellow and velvety when ripe ; exocarp a fleshy and edible pulp, endocarp lining the cells, horny, covered with a densely felted mass of long pluricellular hairs, over 1/6in. long. Cotyledons filled with starch and oil.
Use : — The root, which is bitter, bruised with vinegar and water, is used by the Amboyans as a carminative and also in cases of diarrhœa and dysentery (Rumphius).
266. Aglaia Roxburghiana, h. f. b. i, i. 553.
Syn : — Milnea Roxburghiana W. and A., A. odoratissima, Blume. Vern. : — Priyangu (B, H, Mar. and Sans.)
Habitat : — Western Peninsula, from the Concan and Midnapore southwards.
A large evergreen tree (near the coast in Kanara, a shrub). Bark light brown, smooth, peeling of! in flat rectangular scales. Wood bright red, hard, very tough, close-grained, handsomely marked. Annual rings distinguished by a darker belt. Pores small, scanty, in narrow rings of whitish tissue which run concentrically and appear on a cross-section as narrow wavy lines. Medullary rays fine, numerous, evenly distributed ; the distance between them equal to or less than the diameter of the pores. Youngest shoots and inflorescences clothed with round peltate scales. Leaves 3-7in. Leaflets 1½-4½ by ⅔-3in., glabrous opposite, pale beneath ; naked part of common petiole as long as the upper portion ; petiolules 1/10 to ½in. Flowers 1/12in. diam. ; in. diam, says Brandis. Panicles rather supra-axillary, pyramidal ; elongate, pedicels short. Calyx dull yellow, often covered with stellate hairs. Petals yellow. Fruit fin. diam. : buff- coloured, very minutely pilose. Seed ovoid, surrounded with a white thick, slighty acid edible pulp, embryo green, radicle minutely pilose.
Use : — Said by the Sanscrit writers to be cooling, and useful in burning of the body and painful micturition. The fruit is described as sweet, astringent and tonic. (U. K. Dutt.)
267. Amoora rohituka, W. and A. H. f. b. i., i. 559.
Syn. : — Andersonia Rohituka, Roxb. 314.
Sans. : — Rohitaka,
Vern. :— Harin hara, harin khana (H.) ; Tikta-raj, pitraj (B.); Bandri phal (Nepal); Sohaga (Oudh) ; Sikru (Kol) ; Tanga ruk (Lepcha) ; Lota amari, amora amari (Assam) ; Shem-maram (Tam, and Mal.) ; Chaw-a-manu, rohitakah (Tel.)
Habitat:- Assam, Sylhet, Cachar, Oudh, Western Peninula, from Concan to Travancore. A middle- sized evergreen tree, with a heavy crown. " Bark thin, grey. Wood reddish, close and even-grained, hard ; pores small and moderate-sized. Medullary rays moderately broad, uniform and equidistant, distantly visible on radial section. Pores joined by reddish, soft, wavy, concentric lines. The concentric bands in this species are remarkable " (Gamble). Youngest shoots pubescent. Leaves l-3ft. . Leaflets 9-15, 3-9in. by l1-4in., more or less elliptic or ovate, acuminate, opposite, base usually obtuse, shortly petiolulate ; secondary nerves prominent beneath. Flowers white, bracteate, subsessile. Trimen says, yellow. Panicles spicate, male branched, female simple, solitary much shorter than the leaves ; or branched (W. P. Hiern). Male flowers1 , female ¼in. long. Calyx 5-partite ; petals 3, anthers 6, attached to the tube at its base, Staminal-tube 6-toothed. Ovary sessile, short ; style short, stigma trigonous, angles opposite the Calyx-lobes. Fruit globose, yellow or reddish when ripe, 1-1½in. diam., smooth, 3-celled, 3-valved, pericarp coriaceous. Seed one, oblong, with a scarlet arillus. The seeds supply an economic oil.
Trimen — Sinhalese name, Hingul ; found in Ceylon in most regions up to about 3000ft.
Parts used : — The bark and seed.
Use : — The bark of this plant is used as an astringent (Watt). The ripe seeds yield an oil which is used as a stimulating liniment in rheumatism (D. Basu)— Watt's Dictionary.
The seeds spherical, brownish black with a pale brown hilum, and consisted of a thin brittle husk which adhered to the kernel. Weight of 1 seed about 0-7 grm.
Two samples of seed contained 42.5 and 43.5 per cent, of oil respectively.
{{smaller|The oil is viscous, clear, and yellow brown ; it has an unpleasant smell and bitter taste. Sp. gr. at 15° C. 0.929—0.931 ; Saponification value, 193.0— 192.3 ; Iodine value, 131.7-102.5 ; Hehner value, 92.4 ; unsaponifiable matter, 1.2 per cent ; Rechert-Meissl value 1.2 ; Solidif pt, of fatty acids (titer test), 32-40 C
The Oil is suitable for Soap-Making. The residual cake could be used only as Manure on account of its bitter taste.
(Bull. Imp, Inst. 1913).
268. A. Cucullata Roxb., h. f. b. i;, i. 560.
Vern. :— Amur ; Latmi ; Natmi (B.).
Habitat : — Lower Bengal, in the Sunder bunds, and in Nipal.
A glabrous middle-sized, at times a large, evergreen tree, of slow growth, with smooth branches. Bark thin, grey. Wood hard, close-grained, but apt to split; heartwood red. Leaves 6-10in. Leaflets 2-4 pair, falcate, very oblique at base, 3-5in. long ; opposite or sub-opposite. Male panicles drooping, about as long as the leaves, with numerous diverging branches, sparingly lepidote. Female racemes few-flowered, supra-axillary. Petiolule ⅛-⅜in., or terminal one longer. Male flower fin., yellow. Bracts caducous, 2 at the base of the calyx. Calyx 3-lobed. Petals 3, anthers 6. Staminal-tube turbinate or sub-globose. Seeds covered with a fleshy, bright orange-coloured aril. Capsule globose, 2½in.diam. Ovary 3-celled ; cells 2-ovuled. 3-valved.
Use : — Leaves when bruised applied to reduce inflammation (Prain's Flora of the Sunderbuns, p. 292).
269. Walsura piscidia, Roxb, h. f. b. i., i. 564.
Vern.: — Walasura, wallursi (Bomb.); Walsura (Tam.); Chadda-vakku, walsurai, kanná-kampu (Tam.) in Ceylon ; Valá-rasi, walurasi (Tel.); (Sinhalese) Kiri-Kon, Mol-petta. ; ( Tamil ) Chedavakku.
Habitat : —Western Peninsula ; Malabar and Travancore. Trimen : Habitat — Malabar and Travancore, very common in the low country of Ceylon.
A glabrous, generally middle-sized, at times a large, tree. bark 1/6in. ; greyish brown, tessallated in somewhat erect angular squares. Wood hard ; sapwood reddish brown, heart-wood dark red, much streaked with black, close-grained. Leaves trifoliate, 2-7in. Leaflets pinkish, says Trimen, 2-3in. long, elliptic, obtuse, often refuse, glabrous, shining, pale beneath. Flowers pen tarn erous ; sordid-yellow. Petals imbricated. Staminal-tube half the length of the petals, equally 10-cleft for of its length; divisions all bifid at the apex, hairy above. Petioles 1/15-1in., terminal one longer. Ovary 2-, rarely 3-celled. Fruit egg-shaped, ⅜in., covered with a short tomentum.
Varies in appearance and character of foliage. The pulpy aril of the seed is edible and pleasant.
Use : — Corre and Lejanne state that in the Antilles the tree is known as Herbe à mauvaise gens or Herbe à méchants, and that the bark acts as a dangerous emmenagogue and violent emetic. Mr. Hœlingsworth of Madras has experimented with it, and finds it to be stimulant and expectorant. The fruit of another species of the same genus is said by Forskhal to be the jauz-el-kai or the emetic nut of the Arabs, with whom it is also used as hair wash to kill vermin, and as an ointment to cure itch (Pharmacog. Ind.).
270. Heynea trijuga, Roxb. h. f. b. i, i. 565. Roxb. 367.
Vern : — Kapia Kushi, Chenenji (B.) ; Limbara (Bomb.) ; Gundira (Mar.) ; Kora (Kan.); Kora hadi (Mal.)
Habitat : Forests of N. Oudh ; Himalaya, from Nepal to Bhutan ; Khasia Mts. ; Bengal (Chota Nagpur ; Tirhut) ; Western Peninsula, from the Concan southwards.
Central and Eastern Himalaya, from Kumaon and Oudh to Bhutan. Khasia Hills, Burma, Chota-Nagpur. Hills of Western India. North Kanara and Nilgiri. Godavary district, Manipur.
A small somewhat shrubby tree, sometimes attaining a large size. Bark thin, rough, reddish brown, with lozenge- shaped, depressed lenticels. Wood grey, when young, yellowish white, moderately hard. Leaves imparipinnate. Leaflets opposite, 4 pair, 2-6in., pale and often softly pubescent beneath. Flowers white, in axillary corymbose panicles. Peduncle nearly as long as leaf. Calyx campanulate, 3-5-cleft, petals valved in bud. Staminal-tube 8-10-fid. Segments bidentate. Anthers between the subulate teeth of segments. Capsule ½-⅔in. diam. Valves 2, broad, obtuse. Seed enclosed in a thin white arillus. Testa orange, brown afterwards..
Use:— The bark and leaves possess bitter and' tonic principles (Duthic).
271. Carapa moluccensis, Lam, h. f. b. i., i. 567.
Syn. : — C. obovata, Bl., Xylocarpus granatum, Koen.
Vern: — Poshúir, pussur (B.) ; Kandalanga (Tam.)
Habitat : — Muddy sea-coasts, throughout India and Ceylon. In Ceylon ' mangrove swamps, on the west coast ; rather rare. Trimen says. " This is called the common ball tree from the great spherical hard fruit." The Sinhalese name is Mudunelun ; but is generally reckoned with mangroves and called, like them, Kadol.
An ever green tree, all parts glabrous. Bark thin, grey, peeling off in regular flakes. Wood red, hard ; sapwood lighter. Pores small to moderate sized, often subdivided, scanty. Medullary rays prominent, fine, numerous, uniform and equidistant Annual rings distinctly marked by a continuous belt of pores, and a dark line (Gamble). Stem 25-40ft. high, clear stem 8-20ft. long, girth 4-6ft. Leaves abruptly pinnate, or occasionally simple, the smooth rachis brown or red ; leaflets in 2 or a single pair, rarely the one or other solitary ovate to obovate oblong, narrowed at base, very shortly petioluled, round or retuse at the apex, 3-4in. long, entire, fleshy, coriaceous when fresh, glossy on both sides. Flowers pinkish yellow (Trimen), rather small, nearly 4 in. in diam., on 3-4 in. long, thick pedicels, forming meagre, short, glabrous panicles or recemes in axils of the leaves. Calyx 4-cleft, the lobes rotundate. Petals 4, about 2 in. long. Staminal-tube 8-lobed. Capsule globose, as large as a small shaddok, or smaller, apiculate, containing 5-6 very large angular brown seeds. (Kurz Fl. Burma, Vol. I. p. 226.) The C. Molluccensis, Lamk. has a smaller fruit than the one given in the plate in this work (K. R. K.).
Use : — The bark, in common with other parts of the tree, possesses extreme bitterness, conjoined with astringency ; it may probably prove a good astringent tonic. It is much employed by the Malays in cholera, colic, diarrhœa, and other abdominal affections. — Ph, Ind.
272. Soymida febrifuga, Adr. Juss., H. F. B. I., i., 567.
Syn. :— Swietenia febrifuga, Roxb. Fl. Ind. II 398.
Sans. : — Patranga. Rôhini.
Vern. : — Rohun rohunna rakat rohan (Hind.) ; Rohan rohina rohra (Beng.) ; Rakat rohen (Kol.) ; Ruhen (Santal.) ; Sohan, suam, mal (S. P.) ; Rohni bugut rori rohun (C. P ); Soimi (Goond.) ; Royta (Bhil.) ; Rohan, merwara, rohun, rohunna, roven, ruhin (Deccan) ; Rohan rohing (Bomb.) ; Rorna (Kathiawar) ; rohina (Guz.) ; Shem, wond wundmarum shemmaruin (Tam.); Sumi somida moun cheva moun (Tel.) ; Suámi simemara some (Kan.). J. Indraji : — (Porbunder) Rona ; (Guj.) Rohani ; (Marâthi) Rûhin, Potar ; (Hindi) Rohan.
Habitat : — Hilly districts of North- Western, Central and Southern India, extending southwards to Travancore.
A lofty, deciduous, glabrous tree. 'Bark ⅓ to ½in. thick, bluish grey or dark brown. Sapwood small, whitish; heart- wood extremely hard and close-grained, very dark, red-brown, very durable, with numerous fine concentric lines of lighter colour, often closely packed. Pores moderate sized, scanty. Medullary rays moderately broad, distinctly visible on a radial section as dark shining plates, making with the section of the black pores, a very pretty silver grain having a satiny lustre " (Gamble). Trunk tall, straight, symmetrical. Bark bitter. Leaves paripinnate, petioled, with a thickened base, leaflets opposite, rarely serrate, 3-6 pair, 2-4in. long. Secondary nerves 10-14 pair, alternating with shorter, intermediate ones ; tertiary nerves prominently reticulate. Flowers bisexual. Pentamerous, greenish white, in large terminal panicles, with triangular bracts. Petals obovate, narrowed into a claw, contorted in bud. Staminal-tube cup-shaped, 10-cleft, each segment with 2 short/fleshy teeth, the anthers between them on a short filament. Capsule smooth, l-2in. long, 5-celled, valves separating from the dissepiments, which remain attached to the thick spongy axis. Seeds numerous in each cell, flat, imbricated, winged at both ends.
Reproduces itself by root suckers.
Uses: — The bark is officinal in the Indian Pharmacopœia where it is described as astringent, tonic and antiperiodic.
In intermittent fevers and general debility, in the advanced stages of dysentery, in diarrhœa, and in other cases requiring the use of astringents, it has been used with success.
Of the powdered bark, a drachm twice daily. This is the best form of administration.
The decoction forms a good substitute for oak-bark, and is well adapted for gargles, vaginal injections and enemas.— (Ph. Ind.)
273. Chickrassia tabularis, Adr. Juss., h.f.b.l, i. 568.
Syn. : — Swietenia Chickrassia, Eoxb. 370.
Eng. : — The Chittagong wood.
Vern. : — Chikrassi, pabba, dalmara (B.) ; Boga poma (Ass.); Pabha pubha (Bom.); Pabba, palara, núl (Mar.); Aglay, agal, agle-marum, elcutharay (Tam.) ; Madagari vembu Chittagong chettu, Chittagong karru, cheta kum karra (Tel.) ; Dovedale (Mal.) ; Dalmara, lal devdari (Kan.) ; Maiu (Hyderabad). Hulanhik (Sinhalese) ; Aglad Kaloti (Tamil.)
Habitat : — Low country, Ceylon ; Western Peninsula, from the Concan to the Coorg ; also in Bombay, Malacca, Assam, Eastern Bengal, Chittagong, Forests of Burma, from Shan Hills,
A very large tree. Bark reddish brown, deeply vertically cracked. Wood varying from yellowish brown to reddish brown, with a beautiful satiny lustre, seasons and works well. Sap wood of lighter colour (Gamble.) Trunk straight, tall, young pairs pubescent. Leaves pinnate, rachis 8-10in., cylindrical, softly tomentose. Leaflets 10-16, usually 12, stalked, alternate, 2½-5in., ovate, very unequal at base, acuminate, acute, entire, closely velvety, tomentose on both sides, dark green above, paler beneath. Flowers pale green (Trimen ) ⅛-1in., pedicellate, in large terminal pyramidal panicles. Calyx-lobes shallow, rounded, hairy. Petals linear-oblong, spreading. Staminal- tube ¼in. Style as long as staminal-tube. Capsule 1½in., broadly ovoid, apiculate, smooth, brown, valves woody, separating entirely from the 4-winged axis. Seeds closely packed, compressed with abroad, obtuse, terminal wing, twice as long as themselves.
Use : — The bark is powerfully astringent (O'Shaughnessy.)
274. Cedrela toona, Roxb. H. f. b. l, i. 568. Roxb. 663.
Eng, : — The Toon or Indian mahogany tree.
Sans. : — Tunna, kuberaka, nandi-vriksha.
Vern. : — Tun, tuni, lún, mahánim, mahálimbo, túnkájhár, túna, lúd (H.) ; Tuni, tun, lúd, tunna (B.); Kujya (Tippera); Somso (Bhutia); Katangi (Kol.) ; Mahalimbu (Uriya) ; Drawi, chittisirin, tún, drab, deri, bisrúi, darab, khúshing, khanam (Pb.) ; Túni, babich, labshi (Nepal); Simal (Lepcha); ; Poma, henduri poma, tún, jia, tunga (Ass.) ; Deodari, kúruk (Mar.) ; Deodari, kuruk, túndu, tún (Bom.) ; Túnu-maram, tún-maram, mali, wunjúli (Tam.); Nandi-chettu, nandi (Tel.); Aranamaram (Mal.) ; Suli, máli (Salem) ; Kal kilingi (Nilghiris) ; Tundie, Kempú-gandagheri, tunda, Sanola-mara, devadari (Kan.)
Habitat :— Tropical Himalaya, from the Indus eastward, and throughout the hilly districts of Central and Southern India. A large deciduous tree, with a dense spreading crown. Bark thin, grey, dark brown, exfoliating when old, in irregular woody scales. Wood brick red, soft, shining, even-grained, fragrant; seasons readily ; does not split or warp (Gamble). Leaves paripinnate, l-2ft. long, generally glabrous. Leaflets 8-30, usually opposite, 2-6 by ¾-2½in., lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, sometimes pubescent beneath ; margins entire, usually wavy ; base acute, somewhat oblique. Petiolule ⅓-¾in. long, slender. Flowers cream-coloured, scented like honey, in ample drooping panicles. Calyx short, lobes ciliate. Petals 1/6-1/5in. long, free, oblong or ovate, ciliate. Disk hairy at the orange-coloured lobes. Stamens 5, inserted on the lobes of the disk. Stigma capitate, with a large depression at apex. Capsule septifragally dehiscent, ¾-1in long by 1/5-⅓in. diam., oblong or oblanceolate, dark brown. Seeds reddish brown, light, with a submembranous wing at either end, about ½in. long, including the wings.
Dun and Sharanpur, generally in marshy places. Tropical Himalaya, from the Indus eastward throughout the hilly districts of Central and Southern India. Burma. Absent in Ceylon.
It is known as the red Toon.
Parts used :— The bark and flowers.
Uses : — The bark of this tree is a powerful astringent, and may be resorted to when other remedies of the same class are not available. Dr. Waitz (Dis. of Children in Hot Climates, p. 225) used with success an extract of the bark in chronic infantile dysentery. Blume attributes valuable antiperiodic virtues to it, and in this character it is favourably noticed by Dr. J. Kennedy (Ann. of Med. 1796, Vol.1, p. 387). Dr. Æ. Ross speaks of it as a reliable antiperiodic, and, Dr. J. Newton, as a good substitute for cinchona. The dose of the dried bark is about an once daily in the form of infusion. The powder of the bark was found by Dr. Kennedy to be of great service as a local astringent application in various forms of ulceration. (Ph. Ind.)
The flowers, called gul-tur in Bombay, are considered emmenagogue. These flowers which constitute an Indian dye stuff of minor importance, yeild a minute amount of a red, crystalline colouring matter C15H18O3 , identical with the nycanthin obtained by Hill from the flowers of Nycanthis arbor tristis. This melts at 285°— 287° and not 234° — 235°C. as given by Hill, and in dyeing and other properties closely resembles, but is not identical with, the bixin of annatto (Bixa Orellana). The presence of quercetin contaminated with a trace of an allied colouring matter as glucosides, and of a sugar, C12H22O11 have also been detected, and to the former the main dyeing properties of the flowers appear to be due.
J. Ch. I. 31st August, 1912 p. 765.
275. Chloroxylon swietenia, D.C. H. f, b. i i, 569.
Syn. :— Swietenia Chloroxylon, Roxb. 370.
Eng. : — The Indian Satin wood.
Vern. : — Dhoura, bhirra, girya (H.) ; Behru, biluga,bhayrú bheyri(Uriya) ; Behra, girya, behru, bihri (C. P.) ; Sengel sali (Kol.); Bhira (Gond.) ; Hulda, billú hardi, bheria (Bom.); Halda, bheria (Mar.) ; Múdúdad, burús, purúshmúdudad- maram, purus-burus, vummray, múdúda, vummaai-porasham, kodawah-porash, kodawah-porasham, vummay-maram, Kodawa purrh (Tam.) ; Billu, billuda, bilgu, biluga, billuchettu, billa- kora, billukura, bhallú-chettu (Tel.) ; Mashuda (Kan.) ; Hura- galu (Mysore). Ceylon Tamil, Mutrrai ; Buruta (Sinhalese).
Habitat : — Western Peninsula, from the Concan to the Nilghiris. Ceylon dry regions.
A moderate-sized, deciduous tree. Bark ⅓in. thick, soft spongy, light grey or yellow. Wood very hard, yellow, or cream-coloured, the inner wood darker than the outer, but no distinct heart-wood ; having only a fine satiny lustre ; fragrant. young parts, petioles and inflorescence covered with grey pubescence. Leaves paripinnate 5-9in. Leaflets 10-20 pair, ⅔-1⅓ by ¼-⅝in., opposite, sub-opposite or alternate, gland-dotted un-equal-sided, obtuse. Flowers bisexual, cream-coloured, in small, terminal and axillary panicles Pedicels longer than the flowers Petals 5, coloured, spreading, imbricate in bud. Disk fleshy, 10-lobed. Stamens 10, inserted outside the disk at its base ; anthers cordate, apiculate, versatile. Ovary immersed in the disk, 3-celled ; ovules 8 in each cell. Capsule 1in. long by ½in, thick, oblong, coriaceous, 3-celled loculicidally, 3-valved, the dissepiments remaining attached to the valves. Seeds imbricate, oblong winged, compressed ; cotyledons planoconvex. Exalbuminous.
Found common in the dry regions of Ceylon. There is a good tree in the Ratnagiri Club garden. It yields the well- known satin wood, very hard, heavy, fine-grained, yellow, (reddish-brown rather, K. R. K.), with a satiny lustre. It is the principal timber from Ceylon (Trimen).
Parts used : — The bark and leaves.
Use : — The astringent bark is sometimes prescribed (Dymock). Leaves are applied to wounds (Beddome) : also used in rheumatism (C. P. Gaz. 118). Watt ii. 270.
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