Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/332
1069. Oxyria digyna, Hill, h.f.b.i., v. 58.
Vern. : — Amlu ; Chohahak (Pb.).
Habitat :— Alpine Himalaya, from Sikkim to Kashmir.
An erect, fleshy-glabrous herb. Rootstock tufted, with many erect succulent stems, 4-18in. high. Leaves radical, many, long-petioled, l-4in. diam., rarely 3-lobed or sub-hastate, cauline 1-2 ; petiole sometimes 8in. Racemes slender, panicled. Flowers 2-sexual ; pedicels pointed in the middle ; tip thickened. Outer two sepals, spreading or reflexed ; inner two spathulate, 3-5-nerved. Stamens 6. Ovary compressed, Styles 2, short , stigmas fimbriate. Fruit a nut, 2-winged, biconvex, 1/6-¼in. diam., orbicular-cordate, wing membranous, veined, top notched.
A most agreeable salad, raw and cooked. Except in often attaining a very large size (18in. high), the Himalayan plant does not differ from the European. (Hooker.)
Use : — In Chumba it is eaten raw and in chatni, and is considered cooling, and in Kanáwár it is known as a medicine (Stewart).
1070. Rumex maritimus, Linn., h.f.b.i., v. 59.
Syn. : — R. acutus, Roxb. 309.
Vern. :-- Jangli-pâlak, jûl-palam (H.) ; Bun-palung (B.) ; Hûlâ obûl ; Zagû-kei ; Khattikan ; Bij-band (Pb.).
Habitat: —Marshes in Assam, Silhet, Cachar and Bengal.
An annual herb, rather shrubby. Stem l-4ft., angled and deeply grooved. Leaves 3-10in., lanceolate, narrowed into the petiole. Whorls of flowers lax or dense, many-or few-fid. Panicles leafy to the top. Flowers 2-sexual. Fruiting perianths all unarmed, or on the same plant, some armed and some unarmed, yellow-brown when ripe, tubercle smooth, with a narrow, sometimes reticulate, margin ; spine sometimes 4 times as long as the valve ; tip straight or slightly hooked. Stamens 6. Ovary 3-gonous; styles 3, terminal. Stigmas fimbricate. Nut included in the usually enlarged inner sepals (valves), angles acute.
Uses :— -The plant has cooling properties, the leaves are applied to burns and the seeds are sold as bij-band of the