Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 1).djvu/329

Rh

Sans : — Tumburu.

Vern: — Tejbal, tumru (H) ; Nepáli dhaniá (B). Sungrúkúng (Lepcha) ;

Habitat. — Hot alley of the Sub-tropical Himalaya; from Jamu to Bhotan ; Khasia Mountains.

Hot valleys in forest undergrowth s up to 6000ft. in Jaunasar, Tehri-Gurkwal and the Outer-Himalaya from above Rajpur, Dharmigadh, Tons, and Bamsu valleys ; Korwa, Koti Forest (Kanjilal), Monghyr, Khasia and Naga hills, Hills of Vizigapatam and Ganjam.

A shrub or small tree almost entirely glabrous with a strong aromatic smell. Bark corky. Young stems with thick conical prickles from a corky base. Wood close-grained, yellow, says Gamble, white, says Brandis. Prickles shining, strong, broad, Hat on branchlets petioles and midrib ; thin on older branches, often on a corky base. Leaves alternate, imparipinnate, small. Leaflets 2-6 pair commonly ; petiole and rachis narrowly winged opposite, obtusely acuminate, more or less serrate, 1-3 by ⅓ by ¾in., elliptic-lanceolate, pellucid-punctate ; secondary nerves distinct. Flowers small, yellow, usually unisexual, in dense lateral panicles ; sparingly branched. Calyx 6-8-fid. Petals none. Stamens 6-8, much exceeding the Calyx. Anthers large. Fruit usually a solitary carpel dehiscing ventrally, size of a pepper corn, tubercled, strongly aromatic : rugous, red; rarely 2-3.

Parts used : — Seeds, bark and fruit.

Uses: — Seeds and the bark are used as an aromatic tonic in fever, dyspepsia, and cholera ; the fruit as well as the branches and thorns are used as a remedy for tooth-ache, also deemed stomachic and carminative and employed to intoxicate fish.

The carpels of the fruits, which resemble those of coriander, yield an essential oil, which is isomeric with turpentine and is somewhat similar to eucalyptus oil in odor and properties. The oil may be found to possess