Pers. : — Bádávard.
A small green spiny undershrub, with erect branches, more or less glandular. Young branches terete, striate, spines exceeding the linear leaflets. Leaves 1-3-foliate ; leaflets elliptic or linear, acute ; petiole often foliaceous. Flowers small, pale, rose-coloured. Sepals 5, oblong-lanceolate, half as long as the petals, deciduous, imbricate. Petals 5, closed, caducous, imbricate. Disk short, inconspicuous. Stamens 10, inserted on the disk ; filaments filiform, naked anthers oblong. Ovary sessile, 5-cornered, 5-celled, tapering into a subulate style. Stigma simple ; Ovules, 2 lateral at the base of each cell, pendulous from ascending funicles. Fruit a pubescent, 5-cornered capsule of 5 1-seeded cocci, which dehisce along the ventral suture and separate from a horny endocarp. Seeds punctulate, erect, compressed, broadly oblong, testa mucilaginous, albumen horny ; Cotyledons broad, flat, ovate.
Parts used : — The leaves, twigs and juice.
Uses : — The leaves and twigs are supposed to possess cooling properties (Watt).
It has a great reputation as a suppurative in cases of abscesses from thorns, etc. It is also used for cooling the mouth in stomatitis ; the juice being boiled with sugar-candy until quite thick, and a small quantity allowed to dissolve in the mouth frequently. The juice is thought to prevent suppuration when applied to open wounds (Dymock).
It is largely used by the native practitioners as a bitter and astringent tonic (S. Arjun).
It is used in Sindh and Afghanistan as a popular remedy for fever among the hill people (Pharmacop. Ind.)
Dose of the cold infusion of the stem, and leaves 5-10 tolas. The infusion is thus prepared: — Take of stem and leaves in sufficient quantity, cut to pieces and add 16 times the quantity of cold water ; allow it to remain to be infused for 12 hours ; then strain" (Dr. IRJI JHINA.)
208. F. Bruguieri, D.C. h.f.b.i., i. 425.
Vern. : — Spalaghzái (N. W. Himalaya, Trans-Indus); Dhama, damiyá, dramah (Pb. and Sindh.) ; Dhamâso (Guz.).
