Page:Indian Medicinal Plants (Text Part 1).djvu/107

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N. O. RANUNCULACEÆ.
27

above, otherwise contiguous, loosely hairy, or glabrate, 12 mm. long, 4-5 mm. broad. Seeds obpyramidal, trigonous, 3-3·5 mm. long, dark-brown, broadly winged along the rhaphe, faces with narrow transverse lamellæ giving out towards the back.

Properties and uses:—Gobriya is quoted by Duthie as the name of one of the nine poisonous aconites of the Râlam Valley. A sample of tubers from Dudatoli was examined by Prof. Dunstan, with the result that the daughter-tubers contained nearly 1 per cent and the mother-tubers 0·5 per cent of pseudo- aconitine.


22. A Falconeri, Stapf., sp. nov.

Vernacular names:—Bis, Bikh, Meetha-tellia, (Royle) in an incomplete manuscript catalogue (of Himalayan plants) at Kew.

Habitat:—Subalpine and Alpine Zone of the Himalaya of Garhwal.

Roots biennial, paired, tuberous, daughter-tuber conic to cylindric from a broad, truncate base, up to 8 cm. long, to 2 cm. thick, entire or divided, bearing more or less numerous filiform fibrous root-fibres, externally brown, fracture white, slightly farinaceous or horny, taste somewhat bitter, followed by a strong burning and tingling sensation, cambium continuous, forming in transverse section a slightly sinuous ring; mother-tuber similar, much shrunk and wrinkled. Innovation-bud very short and broad, conic, bud-scales very short, broad and clasping, soon decaying after sprouting. Stem erect, simple, up to 1 m. high, moderately stout, finely pubescent or sub-glabrous in the upper part, quite glabrous below. Leaves scattered, 10 or more, if many, the upper sometimes rather crowded, the intermediate usually very distant, the lowest decayed at the time of flowering; petioles slender, lowest up to 12cm. long, upper much shorter, uppermost very short; blades rather thin, very sparingly and finely pubescent or glabrous, with the exception of the nerves at the base below, lower and intermediate rotundate-cordate to reniform in outline, with a very wide and open sinus, 1-3 cm. deep, 6-10 cm. high, from the sinus to the tip, 12-15 cm, across, 5—sub-pedati-partite to