Uses:— The root and leaves are bitter and prescribed in consumptive cases in the form of electuary, decoction and powder. The berries and flowers are given in cough (Ainslie).
862. S. gracilipes, Dcne, h.f.b.i., iv, 237.
Vern. : — Howâ, marghî pal, kauri bûti, kandiari (Pb.).
An undershrub, with prickles, short, conical, subrecurved, minutely stellately pubescent. Leaves 1½in. diam., obtuse, rarely lobed, usually shallowly cordate, ovate or orbicular, sinuate, often subcordate, not prickly. Petiole ¾in. Peduncles very short or 0, axillary or pedicels ½-1½in., 3 together, subterminal or very short lateral spurs. Calyx-lobes 1/5in., linear ; in fruit ⅓in. Corolla ⅔in. diam.., deeply lobed. Berry ¼in. diam., globose, glabrous, exceeding the sub-linear sepals. Seeds ⅛in. diam., smooth.
Uses : — The fruit is said to be collected by the hakims to be applied to otitis (Dr. Stewart). The leaves are also officinal.
863. Physalis minima, Linn, h.f.b.i., iv. 238 ; Roxb. 189.
Vern. : — Habbi kaknaj (Pb.) ; Buntepuriya (B.) ; Toolati-pati (H.), Thanmori ; Nanvachi-wel (Bomb.) ; Kupanti (Tel.).
Habitat : —Throughout India.
An herbaceous, pubescent annual. Leaves 2in., ovate, sinuate, angular or scarcely lobed. Petiole lin. ; pedicels ¼-½in. Stem erect 6-18 in. height ; flowers solitary, on long slender deflexed pedicels. Calyx at flower time ⅛-1/6in. ; lobes lanceolate, half the length of the Calyx, often hirsute, sometimes glabrescent. Corolla clear yellow, ¼in. Calyx ½- lin., ovoid or subglobose, 5-10 ribbed. Berry ½in. diam. Seeds very many, 1/12in. diam., discord, reticulated, scarcely scabrous.
Uses : — The fruit is considered tonic, diuretic, and purgative, in the Punjab. (Dr. Stewart). Used for horses and gonorrhœa in the Gujrat district of the Punjab (Ibbetson). In the Concan the plant is made into a paste with rice water and applied to restore flaccid breasts, in accordance with the doctrine of signatures (Dymock).
