Rottlera Tinctoria

This plant belongs to the order _Euphorbiaceae_, and reaches the size of a small tree in the Indian Archipelago and southern Australia. From the surface of the trilobed capsules of this plant, which are about the size of peas, a red, mealy powder is



obtained, well known in India as kamala, and which is used by Hindoo silk-dyers, who obtain from it a deep, bright, durable orange or flame color of great beauty. This is obtained by boiling the powder in a solution of carbonate of soda. When the capsules are ripe the red powder is brushed off and collected for sale, no other preparation being necessary to preserve it. It is also used medicinally as an anthelmintic and has been successfully used in cases of tapeworm. A solution removes freckles and pustules and eruptions on the skin.

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