Saponaria vaccaria Linn.
Family Caryophyllaceae.
Habitat Throughout India as
a weed of cultivated fields of wheat
and barley. Also cultivated in
gardens for ornament. Folk Musna, Saabuni.
Action See S. officinalis. The
mucilaginous sap of the plant is febnifugal and used in chronic
fevers. It is a mild depurative and used in the treatment of furuncles and scabies.
Saprosma ternatum
Benth. & Hk. f. in part.
Family Rubiaceae.
Habitat Hills of Ass am, in damp places and in the Andamans.
Sarcococca saligna (D. Don) Muell.-Arg. 583
Folk Bhedeli (Assam).
Action Leaf—carminative, eaten to relieve flatulence and stomachache. A poultice is used after parturition.
Saraca asoca (Roxb.) De Wilde. Synonym S. indica auct. non L. Family Caesalpiniaceae.
Habitat Throughout India, except
Northwestern India, up to 750 m. English Ashoka tree.
Ayurvedic Ashoka, Ashoku,
Hempushpa, Taamrapailava,
Pindapushpa, Gandhapushpa.
(Polyalthia longifolia Benth. &
Hook. f., an ornamental roadside
tree, is wrongly called Ashoka.)
Unani Ashoka.
Siddha/TamiI Asogam.
Action Bark—uterine tonic (imparts healthy tone to uterus), used for suppressed menses, leucorrhoea, menstrual pain, menorrhagia, complaints of menopause. Also used for dyspepsia, biliousness, colic, burning sensation. Flowers—pounded and mixed with water, used in
haemorrhagic dysentery, bleeding piles and retention of urine.
