Vern. :— Ban-san (B. and H.) ; Vuttei-khilloo-khilloopie (Tam.) ; Ghelegherinta (Tel.); Tirat (Bom.).
Habitat :— Tropical regions of the Himalayas and Ceylon.
A copiously-branched, erect annual, scarcely shrubby, 2-3ft. high. Branches at first puberulent, soon glabrescent, acutely-angled. Stipules foliaceous, ½-lunate, not decurrent. Leaves simple, thin, obscurely downy beneath, reaching 4-6in., ovate, usually acute ; the base deltoid, usually obtuse. Racemes moderately close, lateral and terminal, not panicled, 12-20- flowered, ½ft. or more long ; bracts linear, very minute ; pedicels equalling or shorter than calyx. Calyx ¼ in., obscurely downy, teeth lanceolate, twice the tube. Corolla twice the calyx, yellow, white and blue. Pod finely pubescent, 1-1½ in. long, 10-12-seeded.
Uses : — The juice of its leaves is used in medicine ; it is supposed to be efficacious in diminishing salivation. It is prescribed by the Tamil doctors, both internally and externally, in cases of scabies and impetigo (Ainslie).
343. C. juncea, Linn, h.f.b.i., ii. 79, Roxb. 545.
Vern. : — San (H. and B.) ; Janab-ka-nar (Dec.) ; Jenappanar (Tam.); Jenapa-nara (Tel.) Ansâ suilâ (Assam); Sini, tâg-san (Sind.) ; Janapa, pulivanji (Mal.) Sanabu, shanabinâ, pundi (Kan.).
Habitat : — The plains of India.
A stiff annual herb, several feet high, with slender, virgate, rigid, thinly silky, terete, multisulcate branches. Stipules or minute, subulate. Leaves simple, rather distant, linear or oblong, rather obtuse, firm, usually l½-3in., shining on both sides, with thin, short, brown, silky hairs. Bast fibre very valuable for cordage, known in commerce as Sunn. Racemes lateral and terminal, not panicled, loosely 12-20-flowered, reaching a foot long ; bracts very minute, linear. Calyx ½-¾in. long, densely clothed, with ferruginous, velvety hairs : teeth linear- lanceolate, very deep. Corolla bright yellow, glabrous, slightly exserted. Pod 1-1¼ in. long, clothed with short-spreading presistent, silky hairs ; 10-15-seeded.
Use : — The seeds are used to purify the blood.
