Linn.Synonym: T. angustifolia Mill.Family: Turneraceae.
Habitat: West Bengal and Orissa and in the Peninsular India, particularly on the coast.
English: West Indian Holly, Sagerose.Folk: Bhinjir (Maharashtra).Action: Herb—prescribed in indigestion, biliousness (leaves are used against dysentery), chest ailments and rheumatism.
The fresh plant yields a mixture of cyanohydrin glucosides—deidaclin and tetraphyllin. Seeds, along with normal fatty acids, contain a few unusual fatty acids, including vernolic, malvalic and octanoic acids.An allied species Turnera diffusa var. aphrodisiaca, a native to the Gulfof Mexico, Southern California, (known as Damiana) is used in India by homoeopathic practitioners as a tonic and sex restorative, and for treating premature ejaculation.Turnera diffusa Willd. has been included among unapproved herbs by German Commission E. The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia recognizes its thymoleptic activity.
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