Part 33

Botanical Description.--Trees 15° in height, trunk covered with large leaf scars, wood soft and brittle, the long-petioled, palmately-lobed leaves growing in a crown and giving the tree the general appearance of a palm. Flowers dioecious. Staminate tree: Flowers loosely clustered on long, hanging stems. Calyx, 5-6 teeth. Corolla tubular, 1' long, limb divided into 5 oval parts. Stamens 10, inserted in the throat. Style short, awl-shaped. Pistillate tree: Flowers much larger, sessile, in axils of leaves. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla large, 5 lanceolate petals curved outward, fleshy. Stigmas 5, fringed. Fruit about size of child's head or smaller, somewhat pear-shaped, juicy, pulp melon-like, 1 compartment with numerous seeds, each in a mucilaginous aril.

CUCURBITACEÆ.

Gourd Family.

Trichosanthes palmata, Roxb. (T. tricuspis, Mig.; T. lucioniana, Bares.)

Nom. Vulg.--(?).

Uses.--Roxburgh states that the fruit is toxic and sometimes used to kill crows. Dymock states that the leaf is smoked in Bombay as a remedy for asthma.

The extremely bitter taste of the fruit and rind induced Sir W. O'Shaughnessy to examine it for tonic and purgative properties; doses as high as 0.20 gram 3 times a day failed to exert a purgative effect. The root is used in veterinary medicine particularly for pneumonia. Mixed with equal parts of colocynth it is applied to carbuncles. In combination with equal parts of Terminalia chebula and ginger it is made into a sweetened infusion for internal use in gonorrhoea.

Botanical Description.--A climber with broad, heart-shaped, serrate, 7-lobulate leaves. Flowers monoecious; staminate white and racemose; pistillate solitary, growing at the base of the staminate racemes. Staminate receptacle tubular, calyx inserted on the border of the receptacle, 5 sepals. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, of which 4 are in pairs. Pistillate: the receptacle dilates in its lower part in form of a globose vase and encloses the unilocular pluriovulate ovary. Fruit ovoid or pyriform, scarlet when fresh, orange-yellow when dry. Seeds of irregular form, somewhat triangular. Kernel oily.

Habitat.--Luzon.

T. anguina, L. (T. amara, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--Salagsalag, Pakupis, Salimpokot, Kukubitan, Halahala, Buyokbuyok, Tag.; Tabobog, Kukubitan, Pukopukot, Kuragda, Vis., Pam.

T. cucumerina, L.

Nom. Vulg.--Probably the same as T. anguina.

Uses.--The fruit of T. anguina is purgative, emetic and anthelmintic. The natives use an infusion of the filamentous, reticulate portion surrounding the seeds, in doses of 0.50-0.60 gm., according to P. Blanco.

The second species, T. cucumerina, has a wider use. In India it is regarded as a febrifuge and laxative and is commonly given with some aromatic. Ainslie notes that the leaves, as well as the fruit, are bitter and purgative and that the Tamuls use them for their laxative and stomachic effect. Drury states that on the Malabar coast the seeds have a considerable reputation as a remedy for functional disorders of the stomach. Although the green fruit is very bitter the natives of that region use it as a condiment. The tender stems and the dry capsules, both bitter and purgative, are given in infusion and in a sweetened solution, as an aid to digestion. The seeds are febrifuge and anthelmintic. The juice of the leaves is emetic and that of the roots purgative. The decoction of the stem is expectorant.

In Bombay the plant is considered febrifuge, and is given in decoction with ginger, Swertia chirata, and sugar. The Mohammedan authors say that the T. cucumerina is effective in expelling lumbricoids and one of them mentions the following as a cure for stubborn fevers:

Seeds of T. cucumerina No. 180. Seeds of coriander or cumin No. 180. Boiling water 200 grams.

Let stand over night, filter, add a little sugar, administer in 2 doses morning and evening.

In Concan they use the juice of the leaves as a liniment in remittent fevers, rubbing the hepatic region and in fact the entire body.

Botanical Description.--T. anguina, L., is a vine with 5-angled stem, bearing tendrils and spattered with white dots. Leaves heart-shaped, with 5 acute lobules, spiny-toothed. Petioles with a bifid swelling at their bases. Flowers white, monoecious. Staminate: calyx 5-toothed with dotted borders; corolla, 5 fringed petals; stamens 3; anthers 3, entirely united and forming a cylinder. Pistillate: 3 glandules in the corolla tube; style long; stigmas 3. Fruit ribbed, long, the compartments formed by reticular partitions; contains many irregular seeds, one border sharp, the other obtuse, covered by a very thin aril.

The T. cucumerina, L., is less common, bears a spindle-shaped or obovate fruit, is hairy and lacks ribs. Its seeds are ovoid, very smooth, encircled by a narrow wing. The reticulum within the fruit is similar to that of the foregoing species.

Habitat.--Common in all parts of the islands. Blooms in October.

Lagenaria vulgaris, Ser.

Nom. Vulg.--Common Gourd, Bottle Gourd, Calabash, Eng.

Var. Lagenaria Gourda, Ser. (Cucurbita lagenaria oblonga, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--Calabaza de peregrino, Sp.; Pilgrim's Gourd, Eng.

Var. L. courgourda, Ser.

Nom. Vulg.--Tabayag, Tag.