Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 1).djvu/549

Rh reélarâla, réla-kâyalu, suvarnam (Tel.); Konak-kâya(Ma.) ; Kakee (Kan.).

A moderate-sized, deciduous tree, at times large, erect, glabrous in all its parts. Bark ¼in. thick, compact, greenish-grey and smooth when young, dark-reddish brown and rough when old, exfoliating in many-sided patches. Wood very hard ; sapwood large ; heart-wood varying in colour from grey or yellowish-red to brick-red, darkens much on exposure (Gamble). Youngest shoots silky. Branches slender. Leaves 12-18in. long. Leaflets 4-8 pair, ovate or ovate- oblong, acute or shortly acuminate, base cuneate ; 2-5, l½-3¾in., sub-coriaceous, glabrous and bright-green above, pale, and more or less silvery-pubescent, particularly on nervation beneath ; lateral nerves numerous, branching; petiolules ¼-½in. long; stipules minute-pubescent. Flowers large, fragrant, bright-yellow, in lax pendulous racemes, 12-20in. long; Pedicels l½-2½in. long, pubescent; bracts minute, caducous. Calyx 4in. long, divided to the base; segments oblong, obtuse, puberulous. Corolla 1½in across ; petals obovate, veined, shortly clawed. Stamens all antheriferous ; 3 lower largest, with curved filaments, and oblong anthers, dehiscing longitudinally ; 4, with short filaments, the anthers dehiscing by basal-pores ; the remaining 3 short, anthers without pollen. Pod cylindrical, l-2ft. long, lin. thick, pendulous, smooth, shining, dark-brown indehiscent ; seeds numerous, horizontal, in black sweet pulp and completely separated by thin transverse dissepiments ; small, ovoid, slightly compressed, smooth, shining, yellowish-brown, cotyledons flat, albumen horny (TALBOT).

Parts used : — The pulp, root-bark, flowers, bark, leaves and roots.

Uses : — In Hindu medicine, the pulp is used as a cathartic; and the root is also described as a laxative, useful in fever, heart disease, retained excretions, biliousness, &c. (Dutt). In the Makhzan-El-Adwiya, the pulp is described as lenitive, useful for relieving thoracic obstructions and heat of blood, and is a safe aperient for children and women. Externally, it is said to be a good application for gout, rheumatism, &c. The flowers are