Rauvolfia verticillata

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Rauvolfia verticillata
Rauvolfia verticillata 23.JPG
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Rauvolfia
Species:
R. verticillata
Binomial name
Rauvolfia verticillata
Synonyms [1]
List
    • Cerbera chinensis Spreng.
    • Dissolaena verticillataLour.
    • Ervatamia ophiorhizoides(Kurz) Lace
    • Ervatamia ventii
    • Hunteria sundana Miq.
    • Ophioxylon belgaumense Wight
    • Ophioxylon chinense Hance
    • Ophioxylon densiflorum(Wall.) Thwaites
    • Ophioxylon macrocarpumWight
    • Ophioxylon majus Hassk.
    • Ophioxylon neilgheerenseWight
    • Ophioxylon zeylanicumWight
    • Rauvolfia altodiscifera R.H.Miao
    • Rauvolfia brevistyla Tsiang
    • Rauvolfia cambodiana Pierre ex Pit.
    • Rauvolfia chinensis(Hance) Hemsl.
    • Rauvolfia densiflora(Wall.) Benth. ex Hook.f.
    • Rauvolfia latifronsTsiang
    • Rauvolfia major(Hassk.) G.Nicholson
    • Rauvolfia membranacea Merr.
    • Rauvolfia ophiorrhizoides(Kurz) Kerr
    • Rauvolfia perakensis King & Gamble
    • Rauvolfia superaxillaris P.T.Li & S.Z.Huang
    • Rauvolfia taiwanensisTsiang
    • Rauvolfia yunnanensisTsiang
    • Tabernaemontana densifloraWall.
    • Tabernaemontana microcarpaWall.
    • Tabernaemontana ophiorrhizoidesKurz
    • Tabernaemontana subcapitataHook.f. & Thomson
    • Tabernaemontana wallichiana Steud.

Rauvolfia verticillata, the common devil pepper, [2] is a plant in the family Apocynaceae. The specific epithet verticillata means "whorled" and refers to the plant's leaves. [3]

Contents

Description

Rauvolfia verticillata grows as a shrub up to 5 metres (20 ft) tall. The bark is yellowish black or brown. Inflorescences bear up to 35 or more flowers. The flowers feature a white or pinkish corolla. The fruits are whitish purple when ripe, ovoid, up to 1.4 cm (1 in) long. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Rauvolfia verticillata is native to China and tropical Asia from India to the Philippines. It grows in a variety of habitats, from sea-level to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) altitude. [3]

Uses

Rauvolfia verticillata is used in traditional Chinese medicine, including as a treatment for snakebite, malaria, typhus and hypertension. [4]

Related Research Articles

Apocynaceae Dogbane and oleander family of flowering plants

Apocynaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Members of the family are native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members. The former family Asclepiadaceae is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here.

<i>Ilex verticillata</i>

Ilex verticillata, the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in the United States and southeast Canada, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Minnesota, and south to Alabama.

<i>Lomatia tasmanica</i> Tasmanian shrub from the family Proteaceae

Lomatia tasmanica, commonly known as King's lomatia, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae native to Tasmania. Growing up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall, the plant has shiny green pinnate (lobed) leaves and bears red flowers in the summer, but yields neither fruit nor seeds. King's lomatia is unusual because all of the remaining plants are genetically identical clones. Because it has three sets of chromosomes and is therefore sterile, reproduction occurs only vegetatively: when a branch falls, that branch grows new roots, establishing a new plant that is genetically identical to its parent.

<i>Rauvolfia serpentina</i>

Rauvolfia serpentina, the Indian snakeroot, devil pepper, or serpentine wood, is a species of flower in the milkweed family Apocynaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. Rauvolfia is a perennial undershrub widely distributed in India in the sub-Himalayan regions up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).

<i>Banksia littoralis</i> Species of tree in the family Proteaceae endemic to the south-west of Western Australia

Banksia littoralis, commonly known as the swamp banksia, swamp oak, river banksia or seaside banksia and the western swamp banksia, is a species of tree that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The Noongar peoples know the plant as pungura, boongura or gwangia. It has rough, crumbly bark, linear, more or less serrated leaves arranged in whorls, yellow flowers and up to two hundred follicles in each head.

<i>Banksia seminuda</i> Species of tree in the family Proteaceae found in south west Western Australia

Banksia seminuda, commonly known as the river banksia, is a tree in the plant genus Banksia. It is found in south west Western Australia from Dwellingup (32°42′ S) to the Broke Inlet east of Denmark (34°57′ S). It is often mistaken for, and was originally considered a subspecies of, the Banksia littoralis. Stephen Hopper described the subspecies remanens as a short-leaved shrubby form found in the coastal sands below granite outcrops in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park, however George does not feel this form warrants taxonomic recognition as it lies within the normal variability of the species and there was no clear distinction between it and the other populations of B. seminuda.

<i>Banksia verticillata</i> A shrub or tree in the family Proteaceae native to the southwest of Western Australia

Banksia verticillata, commonly known as granite banksia or Albany banksia, is a species of shrub or (rarely) tree of the genus Banksia in the family Proteaceae. It is native to the southwest of Western Australia and can reach up to 3 m (10 ft) in height. It can grow taller to 5 m (16 ft) in sheltered areas, and much smaller in more exposed areas. This species has elliptic green leaves and large, bright golden yellow inflorescences or flower spikes, appearing in summer and autumn. The New Holland honeyeater is the most prominent pollinator, although several other species of honeyeater, as well as bees, visit the flower spikes.

<i>Coreopsis verticillata</i> Species of flowering plant

Coreopsis verticillata is a North American species of tickseed in the sunflower family. It is found primarily in the east-central United States, from Maryland south to Georgia, with isolated populations as far west as Oklahoma and as far north as Québec and Ontario. The common names are whorled tickseed, whorled coreopsis, thread-leaved tickseed, thread leaf coreopsis, and pot-of-gold.

Hunteria zeylanica grows as either an evergreen shrub or as a tree up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 34.5 centimetres (13.6 in). Its flowers feature a white corolla. The berries are yellow. Its habitat is forests from sea level to 350 metres (1,150 ft) altitude. The trees can withstand salinity. Local medicinal uses include for stomach-ache. Hunteria zeylanica wood is used for weapon handles and as firewood. In Africa, the plant is native to Kenya and Tanzania and in Asia it is native to China, India, Sri Lanka, Indochina and western Malesia.

<i>Rauvolfia mannii</i> Species of plant

Rauvolfia mannii grows as a shrub or small tree up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall. Its fragrant flowers feature white to pink or red-brown, or yellow corolla lobes. Its habitat is forests from sea level to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) altitude. The plant has been used as arrow poison. Rauvolfia mannii is native to central Africa.

Rauvolfia media grows as a shrub or small tree up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall. Its fragrant flowers feature white to dull yellow corolla lobes. Its habitat is dry forest and savanna from sea level to 800 metres (2,600 ft) altitude. Extracts of the plant, mixed with food, have been used to poison pest animals. Rauvolfia media is native to Madagascar and the Comoros.

<i>Kopsia arborea</i> Species of plant

Kopsia arborea is a tree in the family Apocynaceae.

Rauvolfia sumatrana is a tree in the family Apocynaceae.

Tabernaemontana rostrata grows as a shrub up to 2 metres (7 ft) tall. Its flowers feature a white corolla. The habitat is scrub or forest to 1,400 m (4,600 ft) altitude. The species is native to Bangladesh, Indo-China and Malesia.

Symplocos adenophylla grows as a shrub or tree up to 30 metres (100 ft) tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 40 centimetres (16 in). Bark is grey to dark brown or black. Its fragrant flowers feature a white to yellow corolla. Fruit is blue when ripe. Habitat is forests from sea-level to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) altitude. S. adenophylla is found in China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Symplocos anomala is a plant in the family Symplocaceae.

Helicia maxwelliana is a plant in the family Proteaceae. It grows as a treelet up to 3 metres (10 ft) tall. The twigs are dark brown. The flowers are reddish brown. The fruit is black, round, up to 2.5 centimetres (1 in) in diameter. Its habitat is montane forest at 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) to 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) altitude. H. maxwelliana is endemic to Borneo.

<i>Pedicularis verticillata</i>

Pedicularis verticillata, the whorled lousewort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae which can be found in Alaska, North-Western Canada, and everywhere in China at the elevation of 2,100–4,400 metres (6,900–14,400 ft).

<i>Dysoxylum parasiticum</i>

Dysoxylum parasiticum, known as yellow mahogany, is a species of rainforest trees in the family Meliaceae. The specific epithet parasiticum is from the Latin meaning "parasitic", referring to the idea that the flowers are parasitic on another tree species.

<i>Brucea javanica</i> Species of plant

Brucea javanica is a shrub in the family Simaroubaceae. The specific epithet javanica is from the Latin, meaning "of Java". Other common names in English include Java brucea and kosam.

References

  1. "Rauvolfia verticillata". The Plant List . Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  2. "Taxonomy - Rauvolfia verticillata". UniProt . Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Middleton, David J. (September 2004). "Rauvolfia verticillata (Lour.) Baill." (PDF). In Soepadmo, E.; Saw, L. G.; Chung, R. C. K. (eds.). Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak. (free online from the publisher, lesser resolution scan PDF versions). 5. Forest Research Institute Malaysia. pp. 49–50. ISBN   983-2181-59-3 . Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  4. "Rauvolfia verticillata". eFloras. Retrieved 9 August 2013.