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5. Gynandropsis gynandra (Linn.) Merr., Enum. Philip. PI. 2: 209. 1923. (Fig. 108).
CAPPAREDACEAE
Cleome gynandra Linn.—Gynandropsis pentaphylla DC—Pedicellaria pentaphylla Schrank.—
Sinapistrunt pentaphyllum Medic.—Cleome alliacea Blanco—Cleome alliodota Blanco
Sinh. Vela; 7am. Kadugu, Nayvelai, Velai; Hindi Churota, Hulhul, Hurhur, Karalia,
Lalhulhul, Safodhulhul; Sans. Ajagandha, Arkapushpika, Avigandha, Barbaragandha, Bastagandha,
Bodhayika, Bramhagrabha, Brahmi, Choraka, Hulhul, Kabari, Karnaspota, Kharapushpa,
Putimayurika, Sugandhika, Surjavarta, Titaparni, Tungi, Ugragandha.
An erect, branched, annual herb, 60—120 cm high; stem shaggy with long, white,
spreading hair; leaves palmately compound, 5-foliatc, leaflets sessile, broadly ovate, acute,
entire, pubescent on both sides and ciliate, pale beneath, the terminal one the largest, 3.7—5 cm
long, petioles 5 cm long, stout, hairy and prickly; flowers white or pale pink, bisexual, at
first corymbose, later in erect racemes, pedicels 1.2 cm long or more, viscid, pubescent, bracts
trifoliate, subsessile; sepals 4, distinct, narrowly lanceolate, acute, glandular pubescent; petals 4,
rotundate with a long, narrow claw, three times the length of sepals and all curved upwards;
gynophore purplish, 2.5—3 cm long, slightly curved upwards; stamens 6, purplish, inserted
half-way up the gynophore; ovary superior, oft top of the gynophore, linear-oblong,
very glandular, 2-carpellary, unilocular with numerous ovules on two parietal placentas, style
absent and stigma capitate; fruit capsule 5—7.5 cm long, linear, slightly curved, viscid pubescent
and somewhat compressed; seeds reniform and dark brown.
Flowers during. May and June.
Illustrations. Rheede, Hort. Mai. 9: pi. 34; Curtis, Bot. Mag. pi. 1681; Kirtikar and
Basu, Indian Med. PI. pi. 70S; Herb. Peradeniya, drawing.
Distribution. A common weed in all tropical countries. In Ceylon, it is very common in
waste and cultivated ground in the low-country.
India. Assam*. Gauhati, Chatterjee, April 1902. East Bengal: Griffith 165, Kew Distribution
1861—2. Maisor and Carnatic: G. Thomson. Ceylon. Thwaites C.P. 2460. Central Prov.,
Peradeniya, Alston 392, Oct. 1926; Bot. Gard., cultivated, Jayaweera 1008, Jan. 1954. Burma.
Upper Burma: Kachin Hills, Mokin, 1897. Maldire Islands. Heddufurt, Veimandu, Horsburgh
Atoll, Gardiner. 1899—00.
Composition. The leaves contain an alkaloid. The plant yields an acrid, volatile oil
having the properties of garlic or mustard oil. The seeds, too, contain a greenish, drying oil.
Uses. The whole plant made into an ointment with oil. is effectivefor pustular eruptions
and other cutaneous diseases especially leprosy. The bruised leaves are rubefacient and vesicant
and often used as a counter-irritant for rheumatism, neuralgia, headache and stiff neck provided
the application is withdrawn before it produces blisters. A decoction of the root is a
mild febrifuge. The seeds arc antispasmodic, sudorific, anthelmintic and carminative. In
Ceylon, it is a reputed snake-bite cure. Taken internally, it is useful in acute dyspepsia, flatulence
and colic. It is also used as an aphrodisiac.
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