Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 2).djvu/219

Rh Habitat. — Tropical India in the drier districts, from the Panjab and Chota Nagpore to Ceylon, common (absent in Bengal proper and humid Malabar).

An erect annual, 6-18in. high. Stem 4-angled grooved, clothed with spreading hairs, sometimes branched. Leaves l-3in. long, sessile oblong or subelliptic, obtuse, sparsely hairy, base cuneate, margins ciliate, main lateral nerves 4-6 pairs. Flowers unilateral, in axillary spreading or recurved racemes shorter than the leaves, rhachis gland.-hairy ; bracts 1/12in. long, lanceolate, bracteoles much smaller. Calyx 1/6-¼in. ; segments narrowly linear, acute, ciliate, elongating in fruit. Corolla about ½in. long, densely hairy outside, pink or white, the lower lip spotted with purple. Filaments slightly hairy, anthers bearded. Capsule ⅓-½in. long, elliptic-lanceolate, hairy. Seeds 1/10in. long, rugose, glabrous.

Use : — The juice is given in fever (Rheede).

Syn. : — Justicia Verticillata, Roxb. 45.

Vern. : — Kastula (H.) ; Jhankara (Marathi) ; Kálá Kiráyat ; Kálayakara (Western India).

Habitat : — W. Deccan Peninsula, frequent, extending north to Mt. Aboo. Bundelkhand, Assam.

A herb, 1½-2½ ft.high. Stems glabrous at the base, more or less pubescent upwards. Leaves 2½-4in. long, ovate, acuminate acute or subobtuse, hairy on the upper surface and on the nerves beneath, abruptly cuneate at the base ; main nerves 8-10 pairs, prominent beneath, petioles 1-2in. long. Cladodes (axillary spines) 1-1½ in. long, stout, 4-angled, enlarging in fruit, usually with 2 sharp spines at the apex, more or less glandular-pubescent and with spreading bristles towards the base. Flowers sessile amongst the verticils of cladodes ; bracteoles longer than the calyx, subulate, finely pointed. Calyx 1/6in. long, segments lanceolate, pointed, gland. -pubescent. Corolla ⅔in. long, minutely hairy outside, limb lilac, with darker lines. Capsule about ½in.