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.
