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Rauvolfia serpentina
Also called Snakeroot, Snakewood, Indian Snakeroot, Java Devil Pepper, Ajmaline, Rauwolfia
In Singapore: Indian Snakeroot, Serpentine Roots, 印度蛇根草, 蛇根木 (Grown in Singapore)
Rauvolfia serpentina is a perennial undershrub from the sub-Himalayan regions of India and nearby parts of Asia, grown mainly for its medicinal alkaloids such as reserpine. It is a tropical plant that needs warmth, humidity and steady moisture to thrive.
Rauvolfia serpentina, the Indian snakeroot, devil pepper, serpentine wood, Sarpagandha (as known locally) or Chandrika, is a species of flower in the milkweed family Apocynaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia (from India to Indonesia).
Rauvolfia is a perennial undershrub widely distributed in India in the sub-Himalayan regions up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).
R. serpentina may cause adverse effects by interacting with various prescription drugs or via interference with mechanisms of mental depression or peptic ulcer. The reserpine in R. serpentina is associated with diverse adverse effects, including vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, anxiety, or hypersensitivity reactions.
Rauvolfia mannii · Rauvolfia media · Be still tree · Rauvolfia verticillata · Devil's-pepper
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rauvolfia serpentina by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
