Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 1).djvu/556

476 without glands. Leaves distinctly petioled, 2-3in. long ; leaflets obovate-oblong, 8-12, opposite, membranous, very glaucous, obtuse, with a minute mucro, ½-1½in. Stipules lanceolate persistent. Racemes distinctly, peduncled, equalling or exceeding the leaves ; pedicels very short. Sepals glabrous, very obtuse. Corolla middle-sized, pale yellow, stamens very unequal. Pod thin, flat, oblong, much recurved, with a crest, in the middle of the valve opposite each seed, 1-1½ by ⅜-¾in., short-stalked, narrower suddenly at both ends, 6-12-seeded, suture very thin.

Use:— Along with C. Lanceolata it is the principal source of the medicinal senna leaves.

Syn. : — Senna alata, Roxb. 354.

Sans. : — Dadraghna.

Vern. : — Dád mardan, dád-mári (B.) ; dád murdan, dát-ká pát (Lt.) ; Dádamardana (Bom. and Mar.) ; Dát-ká-pata Viláyati-agati (Duk.) ; Shímai-agati, vandukolli (Tam.) ; Sima-avisl (Tel.); Shima-akatti (Mal.) ; Shime-agase (Kan.).

Habitat : —Met with in Lower Bengal and the Western Peninsula.

A large shrub, with very thick, finely downy branches. Leaves sub-sessile, l-2ft. long. Leaflets 8-12 pair, oblong obtuse, 2-6in. long, minutely mucronate, rigidly sub-coriaceous, glabrous, or obscurely downy beneath, broadly rounded, oblique at the base. Rachis narrowly winged on each side of the face. Stipules deltoid, rigid, persistent, articulate, ¼in. long. Flowers in short pedicels, in spiciform, pedunculate racemes; the buds in yellow caduceous bracts. Sepals obtuse ; petals bright yellow, with darker veins, broad-ovate, l¼in. long. Stamens very unequal. Perfeet stamens 7, the anthers subequal or those of 2-3 lowest larger than the others. Three posterior filaments without anthers. Pod long, ligulate with a broad wing down the middle of each valve, membranous. Dehiscent, straight and glabrous ; 4-8 by ½-⅝in. Seeds 50 or more.

Parts used : — The leaves.