N. 0. URTICACEÆ. 1187
small, irregular plates. Wood grey, moderately hard ; no heart-wood, having narrow, wavy, concentric bands of soft tissue and darker colour. Pores moderate-sized and large, sometimes very large, often sub-divided, scanty, scattered irregularly. Medullary rays fine, equi-distant, but not numerous. On a radial section the pores and soft bands are distinctly marked, giving the wood a characteristic grain, but larger pores being frequently oblique. (Gamble). Young shoots pubescent. Leaves glabrous
when mature, approximate near the ends of branches, ovate, mostly obtuse ; base cordate or rounded ; basal nerves 3-5 ; the midrib with 4-6 pair of secondary nerves ; blade 4-8in. ; petiole 1-2 in. Fruit globose, pubescent, ½-⅓in. diam., sessile, scarlet when ripe, supported by 2-4 broad, obtuse bracts.
Uses : — The milky juice is externally applied for pains and bruises and in rheumatism and lumbago. It is considered as a valuable application to the soles of the feet when cracked or inflamed, and is also applied to the teeth and gums as a remedy for tooth-ache.
An infusion of the bark is supposed to be a powerful tonic and is considered to have specific properties in the treatment of diabetes. The seeds are deemed cooling and tonic. The leaves are applied, heated as a poultice, to abscesses, and after they have turned yellow are given with roasted rice in decoction as a diaphoretic. The root fibres are given in gonorrhœa in the Punjab, being considered by Vaids to resemble Sarsaparilla. An infusion of the small branches is useful in hæmoptysis. The tender ends of the hanging roots are given for obstinate vomiting.
(1) Composition of a dried specimen of Ficus bengalensis (from Perawa)—
| Water | 11.4 |
| Albuminoids | 7.1 |
| Oil | 4.0 |
| Carbohydrates | 35.2 |
| Fibre | 36.8 |
| Ash | 5.5 |
| Total | 100.00 |
