Uses.—All parts of this tree are anthelmintic. The seeds, fruit, leaves and bark all possess narcotic properties dangerous to man and the symptoms following an excessive dose are sleepiness, headache, a sort of intoxication or an attack of delirium that may end in death. These narcotic properties have been utilized in Java to stupefy the fish in the rivers by throwing the bark in the pools and quiet portions of the stream. The juice of the leaves is used in the treatment of chronic skin diseases. In Amboina the natives eat the seeds, the toxic quality of which is removed by brushing and macerating in pure water for a certain time. After such treatment they may be eaten with impunity and an oil may be extracted from them which is useful as a food.
Botanical Description.—A tree with leaves 5′ long, alternate, ovate, broad, entire, glabrous, palmately nerved. Petiole long with 2 persistent lateral stipules. Flowers diœcious, the male ones in panicles, the female solitary. Calyx gamosepalous, dividing unequally when the flower opens. The male flower has a corolla of 5–7 petals, violet-colored, concave, half oval, with pubescent borders; at its base a flat scale. Stamens free, numerous, thick filaments, anthers bilocular. In the female flower the perianth is the same as in the former, the stamens sterile. Ovary unilocular, with 2–4 parietal placentæ with many ovules. Fruit as large as a man’s head, with thin woody pericarp and many seeds embedded within its pulp.
Portulacaceæ.
Purslane Family.
Portulaca oleracea, L.
Nom. Vulg.—Verdolagas, Sp.; Olasiman, Kolasiman, Tag.; Purslane, Eng.
Uses.—The entire plant is edible, in the form of a salad or as a condiment with meat or fish. The leaves are succulent and acid, and the juice expressed from them is used as an eyewash to remove corneal opacities; it is also used in superficial erysipelas and other skin affections. The bruised leaves are used as a poultice for abscesses, contusions and on the temples for headache. The juice is given internally to check hæmoptysis and in diseases of the lungs and bladder; the seeds also are used in these complaints.
Botanical Description.—A plant with prostrate stem. Leaves fleshy, wedge-shaped. Flowers small, sessile, terminal, pale yellow. Calyx of 2 large teeth, deciduous. Corolla, 4–5 petals with a notch at the end. Stamens 9–14. Style of equal length with the stamens. Stigma in 4–6 divisions. The seed vessel, which dehisces horizontally, contains many small, heart-shaped seeds.
Habitat.—It grows in all parts of the islands.