AURANTIACEÆ.
Ægle Marmelos, Corr. (= Cratæva Marmelos, Linn.).
The Bengal Quince-tree. Almost every part of this tree is used medicinally by the native Indian doctors. In fever cases a decoction of the bark of the root, and also of the stem, is employed, but when the latter is used it is generally combined with a great variety of other substances. The expressed juice of the leaves, diluted with water, is also administered in incipient fevers and colds. The fruit is a valuable remedy in diarrhœa and dysentery, and has been successfully employed in those complaints by medical men in this country. It is a tree of moderate size, with its young branches furnished with sharp spines, and has ternate or rarely pinnate leaves, and axillary panicles of few large fragrant flowers. It has a great number of vernacular names. In Hindustanee and Bengalee it is called "Bael, Bêl, or Bêla;" in Telinga, "Maredoo;" in Tamul, "Willamarvum;" in Malayan, "Tanghula," &c.
MELIACEÆ.
Azadirachta Indica, A. de Juss. (= Melia Azadirachta, Linn.).
The bitter astringent bark of this tree, the Neem or Margosa tree of India, is considered by the native doctors to be a most valuable tonic and febrifuge, and it has been successfully employed as a substitute for Chinchona-bark by English physicians in India. A bitter principle called Azadirine has been obtained from it. Other parts of the tree are likewise reputed to possess medicinal properties: the bitter oil obtained from the pericarp being employed as an anthelmintic, and the olive-like fruit itself in leprosy, while the leaves are universally used in India for poultices. The Neem forms a large ornamental tree, and has pinnate leaves with unequal-sided smooth leaflets sharply toothed at the edges, and loose axillary panicles of bluish flowers. "Neem" or "Nim" is its Hindustanee and Bengalee name; "Nimba," in Sanscrit; "Vaypun" or "Vapan," in Tamul; and "Kohomba," in Cinghalese.
CEDRELACEÆ.
Cedrela Toona, Roxb.