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