9. Delphinium denudatum, Wall.

The medicinal plant Delphinium denudatum 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. 25.

Vernacular:—Nirbisi, judwar (H.); Nilobikh (Nepal); Munila (Simla).

Habitat:—West temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to Kumaon, in grassy places.

Botanical description:—Glabrous or slightly downy herbs.

Stems: 2-3 ft. branched.

Radical-leaves: 2-6 in. across, orbicular, long-stalked, divided nearly to the base, segments 5-9, narrow, pinnately lobed, often toothed; stem-leaves few, shortly stalked, upper sessile, more or less deeply 3-lobed, lobes narrow, mostly entire.

Flowers: few, scattered, 1-1⅛ in. long, spur cylindric, nearly straight.

Sepals: spreading, varying from deep-blue to faded grey.

Petals: blue, the lateral ones 2-lobed, hairy (Collett).

Anterior petals: deeply 2-fid, hairy on both surfaces.

Follicles: 3, inflated, glabrous or sparsely hairy. (Hr. f. and Thoms.).

Medicinal uses:—The root is used in Bashahr for toothache and also as an adulterant for aconite (Stewart).

Note:—An alkaloid, introduced into commerce under the name of delphocurarine (Merck) has been extracted from the roots of a number of Delphiniums by means of an 80 per cent, solution of alcohol containing tartaric acid.

J. Cb. S. 1903, AI. 650.