912 G. polygama, Roxb. h.f.b.i., i. 398,, Roxb. 431.
Syn. :- — G. lancifolia, Graham, Cat Bombay Plants 21.
Vern. : — Kukur bicha (H.) ; Seta kata, seta andir (Santal) ; Gowli or gowali (Bomb.)
Habitat : — North-Western India, and along the Himalaya, from the Salt Range to Nepal, also Concan. Dry country, Ceylon.
A shrubby plant or small tree. Branches bifarious, spreading ; branchlets, petioles, under side of leaves velvety. Leaves almost sessile, narrow beneath, distichous 3-4 by ½-¾ in., lanceolate, very acute serrate, base 3-nerved, nerves not arched, secondary nerves transverse, parallel. Stipules subulate. Peduncles 1-5, short, axillary, slender, generally fasciculate, about half the length of the leaves ; pedicles 2-3, divergent, shorter than the peduncle. Male flower : — Sepals 1/6-¼ in. diam., linear, longer than the oblong entire petals, ⅛ in., blade equal to claw which is hairy on back. Stamens as a rule 10-12, but sometimes more numerous. Hermaphrodite FI. : — Ovary very hairy, stigma 5-lobed, lobes spreading, deeply cut into numerous segments. Drupe ½in. diam ; hairy, brownish, more or less 2-lobed. Stones 4, 1-seeded.
Use : — This plant is used by the aborigines of North-Western Australia as a remedy for dysentery. Dr. W. E. Armit states that on one occasion, having had to treat dysentery following on fever and ague, this plant was pointed out to him by a native as a sure remedy. He collected a quantity of leaves, and having made a pale sherry-coloured decoction of the leaves, he administered about two tablespoonsful for a dose. Repeating this every four hours throughout the night, the sixth dose made a complete cure. " Since then," says Mr. Armit, "I have tried this remedy in scores of cases, and I have never known it to fail in any case, however serious. I have made it a rule to inform the carriers and travellers, I meet, of the sure cure they have always at hand in case it may be required, and all are unanimous in extolling its truly magical
