1007. Crunella vulgaris, Linn., h.f.b.i., iv. 670.
Vern. — Ustakhadús (Pb. and Sind.)
Habitat. — Temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to Bhotan ; Khasia Hills, Nilgiris and Travancore, and hilly districts throughout India.
A thinly hairy erect or ascending perennial herb, 4-12in. Rootstook creeping. Leaves l-3in., upper sessile, the rest petioled, ovate or oblong, pinnatifid entire or toothed, acute or obtuse. Flowers ½-¾ in. long, violet-purple, in whorls of 6, crowded in erect, terminal spikes. Floral leaves bract-like, hairy, purple margined, broadly ovate acute overlapping. Calyx tinged with purple, bell-shaped, 2-lipped ; upper lip broad, 3-toothed ; lower deeply 2-lobed ; mouth closed after flowering time. Corolla-tube broad, slightly longer than the Calyx ; limb 2-lipped ; upper lip erect, wood-like, notched, lower spreading 3-lobed, mid-lobe largest, minutely toothed. Stamens 4, in unequal pair ascending under the upper lip ; filaments bearing a small tooth below the anthers (Collett). " Corolla purple or white ½-¾in." (J. D. Hooker).
Uses. — Regarded by the Punjab Himalayan hill tribes as expectorant and antispasmodic. (Stewart). The green leaves smeared with castor oil and warmed over the fire applied externally to the anus in cases of painful piles.
1008. Carrubium vulgare, Linn., h.f.b.i., iv. 671.
Habitat. — Western Temperate Himalaya ; and Kashmir.
A perennial tall robust shortly woolly herb. Stem 2-4ft., leafy. Leaves ovate or orbicular, crenate, rugose, ½-1½in. diam., base rounded or cordate or cuneate, leathery, wrinkled. Petiole ¼-½in. Whorls depressed, villous, axillary, many and dense-fid. Flowers small. Calyx 1/6-¼ coriaceous. Calyx-teeth 10, subulate, spreading and re-curved at the lip, throat woolly ; corolla ½in., white, tube slender, upper lip long, 2-fid. Nutlets l/12in., smooth.
Uses : — It is a well known old domestic remedy for coughs and other pectoral complaints, but is now seldom used in medicine by regular practitioners. In large doses it acts as a laxative and diuretic ; in small doses, as a tonic and stimulant. An infusion
