1. Clematis napaulensis, D.C.

The medicinal plant Clematis napaulensis is a member of the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family. This page includes its habitat, botanical descption, medicinal uses (eg., Ayurveda), chemical constituents and history of use in modern and ancient India.

Index in Flora of British India (Hooker): 1. 2.

Synonyms:—Clematis montana, Don.

Vernacular:—Pawanne, birri, wandak. (Pb.) Ghantiali (Kumaon).

Habitat:—Temperate Himalaya, from Garhwal to Bhotan.

Botanical description:—A slender, nearly glabrous climber.

Leaves: ternately divided, common petiole l-2in.

Leaflets: 1-2 in. elliptic—lanceolate, sometimes very narrow, entire, toothed or 3-lobed, 3-nerved; lateral oblique, half as long as, or shorter than, the terminal leaflet or lobe which is 2-3 by ⅓-½ in.

Flowers: many, pedicels 1-2 in. long with 2 hyaline bracts joined into a cup, pubescent above the cup.

Bud: sessile in the cup.

Sepals: 4, erect, cream-coloured, oblong, silky outside.

Filaments: glabrous, tapering from a broad flat base; anthers short.

Achenes: flat, margined, hairy; style 1½ in. long, long in fruit.

Parts used:—The leaves.

Medicinal Properties and Uses:—In Kanawar, the leaves are said to act deleteriously on the skin. (Stewart).

The leaves and stems, since they contain an acrid principle which acts deleteriously on the skin, may be used for purposes of vesication.

Note:—It is not improbable that Clematis Napaulensis, D.C. and Clematis barbellata, Edgew, and some other species of clematis are used for the same purpose as Clematis napaulensis, D.C. There is very little difference in the appearance of these species, and so they are very easily mistaken one for the other.