Seeds ellipsoid, compressed, not margined ; numerous, very small, (1-50 of an inch in length).
Uses: — An infusion of the leaves is used by the natives as an antispasmodic (Ph. Ind.).
The dry herbs and seeds are said to be entremely acrid, and, according to Dymock, the dust of the former irritates the throat and nostrils like tobacco. Lisboa states that the seeds contain an acro-narcotic poison, and that they are preferred to Dhatura as a poison, when rapid effect is desired. No mention is made of the plant in Indian medical works ; indeed, it would appear to be more widely known as a poison than esteemed as a drug.
Six ounces of the dry herb yielded to rectified spirit half an ounce of dark brown resinous extract (Dymock).
703. Codonopsis ovata, Benth. h.f.b.l, iii, 433.
Vern. : — Ludût (Chenab).
Habitat : — Western Himalaya, from Kashmir to Garhwal.
Perennial herbs. Root woody, fusiform, large. Stem, 6-12in., decumbent, then erect. Leaves ovate hairy both surfaces, alternate and opposite, obtuse or acute, ¼-¾ by 1/6-½in., petiole ⅛-¼. Peduncles 3-6in., terminal. Calyx-lobes elliptic oblong, ⅓-1/6in. approximate at base, minutely pilose. Corolla broadly campanulate 1-1¼ by ⅓-⅔ in. widened upwards, sky-blue. Capsule depressed, obconic, ⅓-½in. broad ; beak ⅓in. long. Seeds narrowly ellipsoid, 1/16in. long.
Use : — The roots and leaves are made into poultices and employed in the treatment of bruises, ulcers, and wounds (Aitchison).
N. 0. ERICACEÆ.
704. Gaultheria fragrantissima, Wall., h.f.b.i., iii. 457.
Habitat : — On the mountains of N. and S. India, Nepal to Bhutan ; gregarious in the Nilgiri, Travanacore Hills, Burma, Ceylon, upper zone.
A large stout shrub in India, usually small low and much
