Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/18

768 The expressed juice of the leaves acts as a cholagogue, laxative and mild bitter tonic (Dr. Thornton, in Watt's Dictionary).

The expressed juice of the leaves is given with a little sugar to children as a remedy for intestinal (thread and round) worms. In several cases, it has been found to act efficaciously by destroying the worms. It may be tried as a substitute for Santonin (B. D. B.).

Vern. : — Banarish (Afg.) ; Súm ; Sunnu ; Shun (Pb.) ; Angan, angu, dakhuri (U. P.) ; Kangu, tuhasi (Nepal).

Habitat: — Temperate and Sab-alpine Himalaya, from Kashmir to Bhotan and the Khasia Mts.

A large, deciduous tree. Bark ashy-grey. Smooth on young poles, dark and deeply longitudinally furrowed on mature trees. Wood white, with a light red tinge, no heart-wood, soft and moderately hard. Leaves opposite, imparipinnate, rachis 5-8in. long. Leaflets usually 7, less frequently 5-9, lateral opposite 3-5in. by l-3in., ovate, oblong, elliptic or lanceolate, usually long acuminate, falcately serrate, membranous, glabrous above, pilose on the nerves beneath when young. Main lateral nerves about 12 pair, slender, joined by reticulated secondary nerves. Petiolules 1/5-½in. Inflorescence a large terminal panicle ; pedicels fasciculated on the branches of the panicles. Flowers about 1/6in. long, generally 2-sexual. Calyx minute, acutely 4-toothed, somewhat enlarged in fruit. Corolla-lobes ⅛in. long, linear-oblong, narrowed at both ends, induplicate-valvate in bud. Stamens near base of Corolla-tube. Filaments about 1/10in. long. Ovary 2-celled. Stigma 2-fid ; ovules 2 in each cell, pendulous. Fruit an oblanceolate samara, 1-1½in. including the wing. Seed solitary.

Use : — A concrete, saccharine exudation (mannaj is obtained by incision from the stem, and is a substitute for the officinal manna. This is used for its sweeting and slightly laxative properties (Watt).