Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/255

A small tree, up to 30ft. high, or large pubescent semiscandent shrub. Bark light brown thin smooth. Wood grey hard close-grained. Branches cinereous. Leaves small l½-2½in. long, ovate or rhomboid more or less sinuate-crenate, often broader han long, truncate subcordate at base, often apiculate, undulate, rather thick puberulous beneath. Petiole ½-lin. pubescent. Flowers white or pink, fragrant, moderate-sized on slender pubescent pedicels ; cymes small, axillary, dichotomous combined to form a rounded terminal panicle. Bracts small leafy, oblong, obtuse, mucronate. Calyx large, over ⅜in., segment cut fully half way, ovate acuminate, glabrous, veiny.Corolla-tube lin., slightly pubescent outside, lobes ⅓in., very nearly equal, oval or elliptic- obtuse. Drupe, not seen, says Trimen Dry, ⅓-½in. long separating in 4 pyrenes, says Brandis, slightly succulent, says C. B. Clarke.

N. B. — The specific name is given by Trimen as C. Phlomides, Linn f. He says it is incorrectly given as C. Phlomoides (K.R.K.).

Mr. H. H. Haines, I. F. S. gives Safed tekar as its Marathi name, and mentions a variety of it as Var. Donaldi, and gives Kala tekar , as its Marathi name. He says the ' Safed tekar ' is used in native medicine, but not the ' Kala tekar,' which is distinguished by the following characteristics :— Leaves attaining 3.25" (while those of 'safed tekar' only reach 175"), glabrous, membranous, with a cuneate base (type pubescent on both sides). Calyx .25" in flower and enlarged calyx as long as lobes of fruit only, which is .3 " long (in ' safed tekar ' the sepals are acuminate and are at least .12" longer than the fruit), glabrous, deltoid apiculate. Corolla .75" long (The Indian Forester, Aug., 1914, p. 402).

Uses : — In Bombay, the root is used as a bitter tonic, and is given in the convalescence of measles (S. Arjun). In Southern India, the juice of the leaves is given in neglected syphilitic complaints in doses of half an ounce or more twice daily (Ainslie). The Santals rub the plant over their bodies in dropsy and give it to their cattle to cure them of diarrhœa and worms or when the stomach swells (Campbell).

Syn. : — Volkameria serrata. Linn. Roxb 479.

Sans. : — Barbara

Vern. : — Barangi (H.) ; Ban-bakri ( Jaunsar) ; Chúa (Nepal) ; Yi (Lepcha); Chirudekku (Tam.) ; Brahmari mari (Tel.) ; Bharang, bharangi or Bhángrá (Bomb.) ; Bháranga-mula, mula-root (Mar) ; Bharurgi (Guz.).