Habitat : — Upper Bengal, at Cawnpore, Oudb, and west- ward to the Punjab and Scind.
A shrubby, hoary- pubescent plant. Branches rather slender. Leaves l-2in., sessile, very coriaceous, oblong oblanceolate, pungent, quite entire, strongly nerved ; pale when dry ; nerves very oblique on both surfaces. Heads in compound corymbs, longer than broad. Involucre contracted at the mouth, bracts short, rounded ; outer bracts hoary.
Use : — The leaves are aperient, and are used as a substitute for Senna (Murray).
641. Sphœranthus indicus, Linn, h.f.b.i., iii. 275.
Syn. :— S. mollis, Roxb. 608.
Sans. : — Mundi ; Munditika.
Vern. : — Mundi. Gorakhmundi (H. and Bomb.) ; Murmuria, Chagul-nudie (B.) ; Kottak-karandai (Tam.) ; Boda-tarapu (Tel.) ; Miran-gani, attakâ manni (Mal.).
Habitat : — Tropical Himalaya, from Kumaon to Sikkim ; Assam, Silhet, and southwards to Ceylon ; common in rice fields.
A low annual, about 1ft. high, with spreading branches, long, divaricate, ascending, with toothed wings, glandular tomentose or villous. Stem cylindrical, strongly winged with the sharp-toothed decurrent bases of the leaves. Leaves l-2in., sessile, decurrent, oval, slightly tapering at the base, obtuse or subacute, sharply spinous-serrate, very glandular, and also with long white hair on both sides, glaucous-green ; compound heads ⅜-⅝in., ovoid, globose, on winged peduncles, heads very numerous, densely packed, purple bracts, linear acuminate, rather shorter than flower-heads, ciliate at the end ; achenes stalked, smooth.
Parts used : —The seeds, root, bark and flowers.
Uses : — The oblong seeds and the root are considered by the Hindus to have anthelmintic properties.
