Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz

APOCYNACEAE

 

Vernacular names:

Hindi                 - Chota chand

Kannada            - Sarpagandha

Malayalam          - Sarpaganthi, Amalpori

Marathi              - Harki

Sanskrit             - Sarpagandha

Tamil                 - Sarpaganthi, Sivan amalpodi

Telugu               - Patalaganthi, Sarpaganthi

 

Threat status:

Endangered (A 1 c,d) - KA, KL & TN

 

Habit: Undershrub

 

Habitat: Moist deciduous to evergreen forests

 

Altitude: 500 - 1200 m

 

Distribution: Global: India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. National: Moist tropical hills of different states of India. Regional: Fairly common in moist deciduous forests in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

 

Description: Herbs to undershrubs, 0.5-2 m tall. Stems woody at base. Rootstock thick and woody. Bark ashy white, thin. Latex watery. Branchlets hairless. Leaves 3-4 in a whorl or sometimes opposite, elliptic or oblanceolate, 8-16 x 3-5 em, base gradually tapering, apex acuminate, margin entire, papery, hairless, with distinct stalk; lateral nerves 8-15 pairs, faintly seen. Flowers bisexual, in terminal or axillary umbellate cymes, white with pale purple shade, about 2 x 1 em. Drupes united in their lower half, stalkless, fleshy, ovoid, about 7 mm long, hairless, shiny, purplish black when ripe. Seeds 1, ovoid.

 

Phenology: Flowering & Fruiting: March to June; October to December

 

Notes: Included in the negative list of exports notified by Govt of India (Notification 2 (RE-98) dt 13.4.98, 1997-2002). Also included in Appendix-II of CITES.

 

Medicinal uses: This plant has hypnotic and sedative effects. Roots are used for treatment of giddiness caused by high blood pressure. Also used as an antidote to snake poison; especially efficacious in rat bites. Root powder is used for treatment of mental disorders, abdominal disorders, insanity and poisons. Leaves used to treat opacities of the cornea.

 

Trade information: Local, regional and global. Roots are sold under the trade name Sarpagandha at Rs.11 0 to 150/Kg. (Market studies 1999. 2000). Sometimes, roots of R. tetraphylla, R. densiflora and R. micrantha are found mixed in the market samples.

 

Mode of propagation: By seeds and stem & root cuttings

 

Special characters: This species can at once be recognized by its whorled leaves at each node, red-coloured calyx and floral stalks and the corolla tube slightly bulging in the middle. Fruits turn green to red and finally ripening to purplish black.