Rauvolfia serpentina Benth. ex Kurz Forest Fl. Burma ii. 171. 1877 The plant is named after Rauvolfia was named by Linnaeus from Leonhard Rauwolf (also spelled Rauwolff) (Augsburg, June 21 in either 1535 or 1540 – September 15, 1596, Waitzen, Hungary) who was a German physician, botanist and traveller.
serpentina is with reference to snake smell or its usage against snake. This is one of the very high value medicinal plant of India and also of Chinese medicine. Contains a number of bioactive chemicals, including ajmaline, deserpidine, rescinnamine, serpentinine. Reserpine is used to treat high blood pressure and mental disorders including schizophrenia, and was particularly popular for that purpose in the West from 1954 to 1957. In hindi its called SARPAGANDHA, may be because it smells like snakes. It has been used for millennia as an antidote against bites of reptiles. Regards Pankaj -- *********************************************** "TAXONOMISTS GETTING EXTINCT AND SPECIES DATA DEFICIENT !!" Pankaj Kumar Ph.D. (Orchidaceae) Research Associate Greater Kailash Sacred Landscape Project Department of Habitat Ecology Wildlife Institute of India Post Box # 18 Dehradun - 248001, India
