chatom arak (Santal.) ; chengeri tenga (Assam) ; Pullainpurachi sappu (Kan) ; Poli yárala (Mal).
Eng : — The Indian sorrel.
Habitat : — Throughout the warmer parts of India.
An annual or biennial appressed-pubescent, diffuse herb of very variable size and habit. Stems branched, procumbent, without runners. Leaves long-petioled, all cauline, 3-foliate. Leaflets obcordate. Stipules adnate to the petiole. Peduncles axillary ; petals yellow, notched. Flowers sub umbel late, ¾-in. diam. Sepals obtuse, bracts setaceous. Fruiting pedicels depressed. Capsules tomentose. subcylindric. Cells many- seeded. Seeds transversly ribbed,
Part used : — The whole plant.
Uses : — The leaves are considered by the Sanskrit writers, as cooling, refrigerant and stomachic. The fresh juice expressed from them is said to relieve intoxication from Datura ; and said to be useful in dysentery and prolapsus of the rectum. (DUTT.)
An infusion of the small leaves is given as a cooling medicine in fevers (Honingberger ). It is used externally to remove warts and opacities of the cornea. (B. Powell. )
The fresh leaves made into a curry are said to improve the appetite and digestion of dyspeptic patients. Bruised with or without water, they are formed into a poultice and applied over inflamed parts, by which means, great cold is produced, and pain and other symptoms are relieved. Prepared with hot water, the leaves make a very efficient poultice for boils. The leaves are refrigerant and anti-scorbutic. (Moodeen Sheriff.)
In the Concan the plant is rubbed down with water, boiled and the juice of white onions added ; this mixture is applied to the head in bilious headache. (DYMOCK.)
214. 0. acetosella, Linn, h.f.b.i., i. 436.
( Sinhalese) Hin-Embul-Sinhiliya.
Habitat: — Temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to Sikkim. One of the commonest weeds throughout Ceylon,
