Flora Medica

GENDARUSSA.rhomboidal-lanceolate, oblique cells of the anthers placed obliquelyone above the other ; the valves half-ovate, the lower;calcarate. Capsule sterile below, and little narrowed ;4-seededat the upper end. Nees.1044. G. vulgaris Nees von E. in Wall. pi. as. rar. iii. 104.col. 1. Justicia Gendarussa Linn, suppl. 85. Roxb.fi. ind. i. 28.Jacq. eel. t. 11. (Rumph. iv. t. 28 and 29. Rheede ix. t. 42.)Common in gardens on the continent of India ;Amboyna andother islands in the Malay Archipelago.A shrub, with dark purple, or green, smooth, shoots. Leaves shortstalked,lanceolate, obtuse, smooth, with the rib and veins dark purple.Spikes terminal, somewhat whorled, leafyat the base. Flowers reddishpurple. The leaves and tender stalks, when rubbed, have a strongand not unpleasant smell, and are after being roasted, prescribed inIndia in cases of chronic rheumatism attended with swelling at thejoints. Ainslie. The plant is said to have emetic powers.1045. Adhatoda Vasica Nees (Justicia Adhatoda Linn.) Boththe flowers, leaves, and roots, are supposed to possess antispasmodicqualities, they are bitterish and subaromatic. Ainslie.ANDROGRAPHIS.Calyx deeply 5-parted, equal, with narrow segments. Corollabilabiate ; the upper lip entire or bifid ;when resupinateappearing to be divided in the contrary way. Stamens 2 ;anthers2-celled : cells parallel, bearded at the base. Capsule ovalor lanceolate, depressed, 2-celled down to the base, 4-seeded ormany-seeded. Dissepiment adnate. Seeds oval, obtuse, tapering,obliquely truncate at the base, pitted, with a deep hilum.Hooks stalked, dilated, scaly, deciduous. Nees.1046. A. paniculata Wall. cat. No. 2454. Nees in Wall.pl.as. rar. iii. 116. col. 1. Justicia paniculata Burm.fl. ind. 9.Void. symb. ii. 5. Sr.prodr.33l. ind. i. 118. Roxb.fl. (Rheedeix. t. 56.) Dry places in the East Indies, beneath the shadeof trees ;China.Stem erect, generally annual, at least down to the root, branched,slender, 4-sided, jointed, smooth, 1 to 2 feet high. Branches opposite,decussate, 4-sided, spreading. Leaves opposite, short-stalked, lanceolate,entire, smooth ;2 or 3 inches long. Racemes terminal, and from theexterior axils horizontal, long, 1-sided. Flowers remote, rose-coloured,on long stalks, alternate, erect, downy. Bracts 2, large, opposite; bractlets2, smaller, embracing the base of the pedicels. Corolla bilabiate.Tube recurved; lips linear, and reflected; the uppermost broadest,3-toothed; the inferior 2-toothed. Filaments as long as the lips of thecorolla, projecting, hairy anthers very ; flat, obovate, firmly united atthe base, and there bearded. Capsule erect, somewhat cylindrical.Seeds 3 or 4 in each cell, cylindrical. This has been much celebratedas a stomachic, and used as a remedy for cholera and dysentery, and in intermittentfevers : it is' the basis of a French mixture called Drogueamere.It is also said to be alexipharmic.501 K K 3