Holostemma ada-kodien SCHULT.

Holostemma ada-kodien Schult.

H. annulaTe (Roxb.) K.Schum.                                           

ASCLEPIADACEAE

 

Vernacular names:

Hindi               - Chirve/, Ranimaoi

Malayalam        - Adakodiyan, Adapathian

Marathi            - Gaganthjuti, Pa/kheve/

Sanskrit           - Jivanti

Tamil               - Pa/aikkirai

Telugu             - Dudipala tige, Pa/a gurugu, Bandi guru vinda teega

 

Threat status:

Vulnerable (A 1 c) - KA Endangered (A 1 c,d) - KL

Lower Risk near threatened -TN

 

Habit: A creeping tuberous shrub

 

Habitat: Dry and moist deciduous forests

 

Altitude: 600 - 1000 m

 

Distribution: Global: Penisular India, tropical Himalayas, Sri Lanka, . Myanmar and western China. National: In warmer parts of India. Regional: In drier zones of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

 

Description: An extensive hairless perennial climber. Roots tuberous, about 3 cm across, whitish inside. Latex white, thick, sticky, becoming an elastic residue on drying. Leaves opposite, egg-shaped, 5-10 x 3.5­8 cm, base deeply heart-shaped, apex blunt!y acuminate, margin entire, hairless, papery; lateral nerves about 5 pairs and the lower 2 pairs arise from the base of the leaves; leaf stalks up to 3 cm long. Flowers bisexual, 5-7, in axillary cymes, about 1.5 cm across, pinkish purple, fleshy, distinctly stalked. Follicles 1 or 2, lance-shaped, 5-7 x 2.5-3.5 cm, turgid, hairless, slightly 5-ridged. Seeds many, ovoid, about 1 cm long, flat, winged along the margin, with silky white hairs at apex.

 

Phenology: Flowering: September to November; March to April; Fruiting: April to October

 

Medicinal uses: Roots are useful in ophthalmopathy, treating cough, burning sensation, fever, dysentery, nightblindness, poisonous affections and tuberculosis.

 

Trade information: Local and regional. High quantity consumption for Ayurvedic formulations. Roots are high priced [Rs1 DO/kg] and used as Jeevanti in southern India especially Kerala. Its herbal concentrate under the name Adapathiyan kizhangu, was priced at Rs.147.45/Kg. (Kerala,1998).

 

Mode of propagation: By seeds and root tubers

 

Special characters: The flowers are attractive, resembling Calotropis gigantea (madar). Fruits are thick, more or less boat-shaped in outline. I Sometimes all plant parts exhibit a pink tinge. Roots taste sweet.

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