Rauvolfia

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Rauvolfia
Starr 030628-0122 Rauvolfia sandwicensis.jpg
Rauvolfia sandwicensis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Rauvolfioideae
Tribe: Vinceae
Subtribe: Rauvolfiinae
Benth. & Hook.f.
Genus: Rauvolfia
L. [1]
Type species
Rauvolfia tetraphylla
L. [2]
Synonyms [1]
  • CyrtosiphoniaMiq.
  • DissolenaLour.
  • HeurckiaMüll.Arg.
  • OphioxylonL.
  • PodochrosiaBaill.
Rauvolfia serpentina fruit Chandra (Bengali- cndr) (6928674411).jpg
Rauvolfia serpentina fruit

Rauvolfia (sometimes spelled Rauwolfia) is a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, commonly known as devil peppers, in the family Apocynaceae. The genus is named to honor Leonhard Rauwolf. The genus can mainly be found in tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and various oceanic islands. [1] [3]

Contents

Spelling

The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants stipulates that the genus name was established by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 book Species Plantarum , [4] [5] which cites his earlier description [6] which states in Botanical Latin that the name is dedicated "to Leonhard Rauwolf": "Leon. Rauvolfio". Although some subsequent authors hypercorrected the Classical Latin letter "v" to a modern "w", this is not accepted by the code of nomenclature. [7]

Chemical constituents

Rauvolfia serpentina , commonly known as Indian snakeroot or sarpagandha, contains many indole alkaloids. [8]

Conservation

Rauvolfia serpentina is declining in the wild due to collection for its medicinal uses. [9] Consequently, it is listed in CITES Appendix II. [10] Rauvolfia vomitoria is a highly invasive species in Hawaiʻi, and is capable of establishing dense monotypic stands.

Species

As of November 2025, Plants of the World Online accepted these species: [1]

  1. Rauvolfia afra Sond. – Africa from Togo east to Tanzania, south to Cape Province
  2. Rauvolfia amsoniifolia A.DC. – Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku, Lesser Sunda Islands
  3. Rauvolfia andina Markgr. – Peru
  4. Rauvolfia anomala Rapini & I.Koch – Brazil (Mato Grosso)
  5. Rauvolfia aphlebia (Standl.) A.H.Gentry – Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia
  6. Rauvolfia atlantica Emygdio – Brazil (Bahia)
  7. Rauvolfia bahiensis A.DC. – Eastern Brazil
  8. Rauvolfia balansae (Baill.) Boiteau – New Caledonia
  9. Rauvolfia biauriculata Müll.Arg. – Cuba, Haiti, Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago
  10. Rauvolfia capixabae I.Koch & Kin.-Gouv – Brazil (Bahia, Espírito Santo)
  11. Rauvolfia capuronii Markgr. – Madagascar
  12. Rauvolfia chaudocensis Pierre ex Pit. – Vietnam
  13. Rauvolfia cubana A.DC. – Cuba; naturalized in China (Yunnan)
  14. Rauvolfia cumminsii Stapf – West Africa
  15. Rauvolfia decurva Hook.f. – India
  16. Rauvolfia dichotoma K.Schum. – São Tomé
  17. Rauvolfia gracilis I.Koch & Kin.-Gouv. – Brazil (Rondônia, Mato Grosso)
  18. Rauvolfia grandiflora Mart. ex A.DC. – Eastern Brazil
  19. Rauvolfia hookeri S.R.Sriniv. & Chithra – South India
  20. Rauvolfia insularis Markgr. – Palau
  21. Rauvolfia × ivanovii Granda & V.R.Fuentes – Cuba (R. ligustrina × R. viridis)
  22. Rauvolfia javanica Koord. & Valeton – Java, Sumatra, Lesser Sunda Islands
  23. Rauvolfia kamarora Hendrian – Sulawesi
  24. Rauvolfia leptophylla A.S.Rao – Colombia, Venezuela
  25. Rauvolfia letouzeyi Leeuwenb. – Gabon, Republic of Congo
  26. Rauvolfia leucopoda K.Schum. ex De Wild. & T.Durand – Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
  27. Rauvolfia ligustrina Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. – from Mexico and Cuba south to Paraguay and northeast Argentina
  28. Rauvolfia linearifolia Britton & P.Wilson – Cuba
  29. Rauvolfia littoralis Rusby – Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador
  30. Rauvolfia macrantha K.Schum. ex Markgr. – Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, northern Brazil, Peru
  31. Rauvolfia mannii Stapf – tropical Africa from Ivory Coast to Tanzania, south to Malawi
  32. Rauvolfia mattfeldiana Markgr. – Brazil
  33. Rauvolfia maxima Markgr. – Venezuela
  34. Rauvolfia media Pichon – Comoros, Madagascar
  35. Rauvolfia micrantha Hook.f. – South India, southern Thailand, Vietnam
  36. Rauvolfia microcarpa Hook.f. – Myanmar
  37. Rauvolfia moluccana Markgr. – Maluku, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago
  38. Rauvolfia mombasiana Stapf – Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique
  39. Rauvolfia moricandii A.DC. – Eastern Brazil
  40. Rauvolfia nana E.A.Bruce – Angola, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  41. Rauvolfia nitida Jacq. – West Indies, Panama, southern Mexico
  42. † Rauvolfia nukuhivensis (Fosberg & Sachet) Lorence & Butaud – French Polynesia but extinct
  43. Rauvolfia obscura K.Schum. – West tropical Africa
  44. Rauvolfia obtusiflora A.DC. – Madagascar
  45. Rauvolfia oligantha Hendrian – Java
  46. Rauvolfia pachyphylla Markgr. – Venezuela, Guyana
  47. Rauvolfia paraensis Ducke – Northern Brazil, Peru, Suriname, French Guiana
  48. Rauvolfia paucifolia A.DC. – Eastern Brazil
  49. Rauvolfia pentaphylla Ducke – Northern Brazil, Peru
  50. Rauvolfia polyphylla Benth. – Southern Venezuela, northern Brazil
  51. Rauvolfia praecox K.Schum. ex Markgr. – Western Brazil, Peru, Bolivia
  52. Rauvolfia pruinosifolia I.Koch & Kin.-Gouv. – Brazil (Minas Gerais)
  53. Rauvolfia purpurascens Standl. – Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador
  54. Rauvolfia rhonhofiae Markgr. – Ecuador
  55. Rauvolfia rivularis Merr. – Myanmar
  56. Rauvolfia rostrata Markgr. – Maluku, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago
  57. Rauvolfia sachetiae Fosberg – Marquesas in French Polynesia
  58. Rauvolfia salicifolia Griseb. – Cuba
  59. Rauvolfia sanctorum Woodson – Colombia, Peru
  60. Rauvolfia sandwicensis A.DC. – Hawaiian Islands (Hawaiʻi) [11]
  61. Rauvolfia schuelii Speg. – Bolivia, northern Argentina
  62. Rauvolfia sellowii Müll.Arg. – Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina (Misiones Province)
  63. Rauvolfia semperflorens (Müll.Arg.) Schltr. – New Caledonia
  64. Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz – Indian Subcontinent, China, Southeast Asia
  65. Rauvolfia sevenetii Boiteau – New Caledonia
  66. Rauvolfia spathulata Boiteau – New Caledonia
  67. Rauvolfia sprucei Müll.Arg. – Southern Venezuela, Peru, northern Brazil
  68. Rauvolfia steyermarkii Woodson – Venezuela (Táchira)
  69. Rauvolfia sumatrana Jack – China (Guangdong), Thailand, Myanmar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines
  70. Rauvolfia tetraphylla L. – from Mexico and West Indies to Peru; naturalized in China, Indian Subcontinent, Andaman Islands, Vietnam, Queensland
  71. Rauvolfia tiaolushanensis Tsiang – China (Hainan)
  72. Rauvolfia verticillata (Lour.) Baill. – China, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines
  73. Rauvolfia viridis Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. – West Indies, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela
  74. Rauvolfia volkensii (K.Schum.) Stapf – Tanzania
  75. Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. – tropical Africa from Senegal east to Sudan and Tanzania, south to Angola; naturalized in China, Bangladesh, Puerto Rico
  76. Rauvolfia weddeliana Müll.Arg. – Brazil, Paraguay
  77. Rauvolfia woodsoniana Standl. – Costa Rica
formerly included [1]
  1. Rauvolfia celastrifoliaBaker = Stephanostegia hildebrandtii Baill.
  2. Rauvolfia dentataTafalla ex D.Don = Citharexylum dentatum D.Don
  3. Rauvolfia flexuosaRuiz & Pav. = Citharexylum flexuosum (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don
  4. Rauvolfia glabraCav. = Vallesia glabra (Cav.) Link
  5. Rauvolfia indosinensisPichon = Rauvolfia micrantha Hook.f.
  6. Rauvolfia laevigataWilld. ex Roem. & Schult. = Tabernaemontana amygdalifolia Jacq.
  7. Rauvolfia longifoliaA.DC. = Alstonia longifolia (A.DC.) Pichon
  8. Rauvolfia macrophyllaRuiz & Pav.1799 not Stapf 1894 = Citharexylum flexuosum (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don
  9. Rauvolfia oppositifoliaSpreng. 1822 not Sessé & Moc. 1888 = Tabernaemontana oppositifolia (Spreng.) Urb.
  10. Rauvolfia peguanaHook.f. = Rauvolfia verticillata (Lour.) Baill.
  11. Rauvolfia pubescensWilld. ex Roem. & Schult. = Citharexylum quitense Spreng.
  12. Rauvolfia spinosaCav. = Citharexylum flexuosum (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don
  13. Rauvolfia stenophyllaDonn.Sm. = Alstonia longifolia (A.DC.) Pichon
  14. Rauvolfia strempelioidesGriseb. = Strempeliopsis strempelioides (Griseb.) Benth. ex B.D.Jacks.
  15. Rauvolfia striataPoir. = Ochrosia borbonica J.F.Gmel.
  16. Rauvolfia vietnamensisLý = Rauvolfia micrantha Hook.f.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rauvolfia L." Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Rauvolfia L." TROPICOS. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  3. ↑ Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 157 萝芙木属 luo fu mu shu Rauvolfia Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 208. 1753.
  4. ↑ ( McNeill et al. 2012 , Article 38.1)
  5. ↑ Linnaeus, C. (1753), "Rauvolfia tetraphylla", Species plantarum: exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas, vol. 1, Stockholm: Lars Salvius, p. 208
  6. ↑ Linnaeus, C. (1737), "Rauvolfia g. pl. 179", Hortus Cliffortianus, Amsterdam, p. 75
  7. ↑ ( McNeill et al. 2012 , Articles 60 and 61, particularly 60.1)
  8. ↑ SerpentinaDB
  9. ↑ "India's wild medicinal plants threatened by over-exploitation". International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  10. ↑ "Appendices I, II and III" (PDF). Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species. 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  11. ↑ Little, Elbert L., Jr.; Skolmen, Roger G. (May 1989). "137. Hao, Hawaiian rauvolfia; Rauvolfia sandwicensis A. DC.". Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced). Dogbane family (Apocynaceae). Agriculture Handbook No. 679. Vol. 679. Washington, DC: United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. pp. 4, 280, 282. LCCN   89-7592. HathiTrust uva.x001754760, pst.000021483882, osu.32435031271943. Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project cftoh1989, cftoh1989.pdf. Internet Archive common-forest-trees-of-hawaii.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Reprinted by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2003: book, chapter.

Bibliography

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