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42. ERICACEAE<br />
I. Gaultheria rudis Stapf. Bot. Mag. sub. t. 9147. 1929.<br />
Gaultherio fragrantissima Sensu Trimen.—Gaultheria punctata Bl.—Gaultheria leschenaultii DC.<br />
Sinh. Wal-kapuru.-<br />
A much branched shrub with stiff erect twigs and leaves, bark yellowish, young twigs<br />
smooth, pink and somewhat compressed; leaves simple, alternate, numerous, persistent. 3.7—<br />
6.3 cm long on short, stout petioles, oblong-oval or oblong-lanceolate, rounded at base, obtuse<br />
or apiculate at apex, serrate, venation reticulate, bright green above, paler and dotted with dark<br />
brown glands beneath; flowers regular, bisexual, numerous, white on short, drooping pedicels<br />
with a pair of bractlets below the flower and a bract at the base, closely placed in dense, pubescent,<br />
axillary racemrs much shorter than leaves; calyx white, free, not adnate to ovary but becoming<br />
succulent in fruit, segments 5, acute; corolla urceolate, globose, lobes 5, small; stamens 10,<br />
hypogynous, distinct, anther cells opening by short slits at apex and produced above into 2 spurs<br />
which are very sharp and reflexed; ovary superior, S lobed, S-locular, pubescent; fruit capsule<br />
small, pubescent, completely enclosed in fleshy, ovoid, enlarged calyx which is 0.8—1.8 cm<br />
long, smooth, shining, deep purple-blue with a red stalk.<br />
Flowers from February to July.<br />
Illustrations. Bond, Wild Flowers of Ceylon Hills, pi. 65. 1953.<br />
Distribution. Occurs in patanas at high elevations, overhanging the edge of deeply sunken<br />
tracks. It also occurs in North and South India, Burma, Malaya, Java and Sumatra.<br />
India. East Himalaya, Herb. Griffith 3481/1, Kew Distribution 1862—3. Nepal: Wallich<br />
765, 1824. Khasia:/. D. Hooker; J. D. Hooker and T. Thomson. Malabar: Anderson, Oct. 1861.<br />
Pen. Ind. Or., Herb. Wight 1292, Kew Distribution 1866—7. Ceylon. Thwaites CP. 42. Central<br />
Prov., Horton Plains, World's End, Mueller-Dombois and Comanor 67070841, July 1967; Herb.<br />
Peradeniya.. Jan. 1906; Fort Macdonald, J. M. Silva, May 1911; Ambawela, Mueller-Dombois<br />
67071003, July 1967; Knuckles, W. Ferguson, April 1887; Hakgala, A. M. Silva, Oct. 1906;<br />
Sita Eliya, A. M. Silva, Oct. 1906. Java. Yates 2802, March 1928. Sumatra. Forbes 2439, 1881.<br />
Composition. The leaves on distillation yield oil of Wintergreen, which by eni.ymr action<br />
on the glucoside, monotropitoside produces methyl salicylate in addition to arbutin a.i.i -annin.<br />
The oil also contains minute quantities of an alcohol, a ketone and an ester.<br />
Uses. The leaves are astringent and aromatic and are used for preparation -f ointmenUused<br />
as an application on muscular pains and rheumatism. The oil is a stimulant, carminative<br />
and antiseptic. It is applied externally as a liniment in rheumatism, sciatica and neuralgia<br />
It is given internally in the form of an emulsion. It has a vermicide action against hookworm.<br />
It is a constituent of several insecticidal and insect-repellent preparations and is used as a<br />
flavouring agent in confectionery, soft drinks and dentifrices. In Java.it is used as a hair tonic.<br />
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