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44. EUPHORBIAGEAE
1. Acolypha indica Linn Sp. PI. 1003. 1753. (Fig. 191).
Aealypha spfcata Forsk.—Acaiypha ciliata Vidto.—Acalypka canescens Wall—AcaJypha caroliniana
Blanco
Salt. Kuppameniya; Tarn. Kuppaimeni, Kuppamani; Hindi Khokali, Khokla,
KhoTcli, Kuppi; Sans. Arittamunjariye.
An annual herb, 30—75 cm tall, erect, branches numerous, long, ascending, angular,
finely pubescent; leaves simple, alternate, 3.7—9 cm long, 2.8—7 cm broad, rhomboidovate,
tapering at base, acute, serrate, glabrous, thin, somewhat 3-nerved at base, pale green,
finely pubescent on veins beneath; petioles usually longer than the leaf, 2—9.5 cm long, slender,
spreading, pubescent, stipules minute; flowers minute, green, unisexual, apetalous, monoecious,
sessile or shortly pedicelled, in numerous, lax, erect, axillary spikes, each terminating in a swollen
2-fid apex bearing a seed; male flowers: very small, white, short-pedicel led in clusters towards
the upper end of the spike; sepals 4, valvate, ovate, hairy, petals and disc absent; stamens 8 on a
convex receptacle, filaments swollen and anthers branched; female flowers: solitary or in clusters
of 2 or 3, scattered,each group with a large, leafy, truncate, dentate bract; sepals 3, ovate, hairy;
petals absent; ovary superior, hispid, 3-locular with a single ovule in each loculus, styles 3, much
divided into several long slender branches; fruit capsule small, concealed by the large bract,
consisting of three. 2-valved, crustaceous cocci; seeds brown, glabrous, conical, about 1.4 mm
long.
Flowers all the year round.
Illustrations. Wight, Ic. PI. Ind. Orient, pi. 877. 1843—45; Kirtikar and Basu. Indian
Med. Plants, pi. 874. 1933; Herb. Peradeniya., drawing.
Distribution. Occurs in the hotter parts of India, Ceylon, Malaya, Burma, Philippine
Islands, Polynesia and tropical Africa. In Ceylon.it is a common weed in cultivated and waste
ground in the low-country especially, in the dry regions.
India. Maisor and Carnatic, G. Thomson. Madras, Wallich 1119B. Ceylon. North Central
Prov., Anuradhapura, Thwaites CP. 2098, Central Prov., Peradeniya, Jayaweera 1044, Jan.
1954; Jayaweera 2227, May 1957. Maldive Islands. Dial 161, 1896; Horsburg and Addu Atolls
Gardiner, 1899—1900. Timor. Meyer, 1884.
Composition. Contains the alkaloids, acalyphine and triacetonamine, resin, tannin, a
volatile oil and a cyanogenetic glucoside.
Uses. The leaves possess laxative powers A decoction of the leaves and roots is given
to children as an expectorant and emetic for bronchitis. The fresh juice of the leaves is given for
asthma and bronchitis. A teaspoonful o> the juice with a tablespoonful of arrack taken
early in the morning on an empty stomach for a fortnight, is said to cure asthma. The
root bruised in water is used as a cathartic. Externally, a poultice made with the fresh bruised
leaves applied to the lower part of the abdomen is a popular remedy for spasmodic retention of
urine. The leaves are an anti-parasiticide. The powdered dry leaves are used for bed
sores and a paste of it for ringworm. In chronic constipation in children, a paste of the
leaves made into a ball and introduced to the rectum relieves contraction of the sphincter
ani. The juice of the leaves mixed with lime is applied for painful rheumatic affections.
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