ridged on the back" (Clarke). Embryo curled, through less than a semicircle.
Uses : — Thwaites states that the plant is used as a medicine in fevers. Dr. Peters in a special note informs us that it has the reputation of promoting the flow of the lochial discharge (Watt).
565. Gisekia phranaceoides, Linn. H.F.B.I., II. 664.
Vern. :— Manall kire, nummuelli kirai (Tam.); Esukadanti kura, Isakadásari kura (Tel.).
Habitat: The Punjab, U. P., Sind and South Deccan Peninsula.
Diffuse branched, succulent, glabrous, herbs. Stems 8-1 8in. Leaves opposite or falsely whorled, fleshy, spathulate, abounding in raphides, ¾-1½in., oblong or elliptic, entire, narrowed at the base. Stipules absent. Petiole absent or 1/6in., cymes axillary, dense. Flowers sessile and pedicelled, hermaphrodite or polygamous, small, greenish or purplish. Sepals 5, nearly free, ovate, herbaceous, with membranous margins, 1/16in. Petals absent. Stamens 5, hypogynous ; filaments dilated below. Carpels usually 5, distinct, covered with papillæ ; each carpel as heavy as the sepals in fruit, ends in a short simple style and contains one basal ovule. Seeds blackish, smooth, minutely glandular-punctate. Embryo curved, less than a semicircle.
Use : — The plant has been found to act as a powerful anthelmintic in cases of taenia. The discoverer, Capt. W. H. Lowther (Journ. Agri-Hort. Soc. of India, 1857), directs that the fresh plant, including the leaves, stalks and capsules, be administered in doses of about an ounce ground into a powder and given in the form of a draught with water. The dose is recommended to be repeated three times, at intervals of four days (Ph. Ind.).
