Indian Snakeroot
Rauvolfia serpentina
Also known as Rauvolfia root, Serpentine wood, Serpentine
About Indian Snakeroot
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). Sarpagandha is used in folk medicine in India for centuries to treat a wide variety of maladies, including snake and insect bites, febrile conditions, malaria, abdominal pain, and dysentery. It was also used as a uterine stimulant, febrifuge, and cure for insanity. The plant was mentioned in Hindu manuscripts as long ago as 1000 BCE.
Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Rauvolfia serpentina
- Genus
- Rauvolfia
- Family
- APOCYNACEAE
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Moist deciduous forests, also in the plains
- Distribution
- Tropical Himalayas, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia
- Flowering & fruiting
- April-November
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Local Names
- Hindi
- Sarpagandha सर्पगंधा, Sarapagandha, सर्पगन्धा
- Nepali
- सर्पगन्धा, चाँदमरुवा
- Bengali
- সর্পগন্ধা
- Tamil
- சர்பகந்தி
- Telugu
- సర్పగంధ
- Kannada
- ಸೂತ್ರನಾಭಿ Sootranaabhi, ಶಿವನಾಭಿ Shivanaabhi, ಹಡಕಿ Hadaki
- Malayalam
- സർപ്പഗന്ധ, സർപ്പഗന്ധി, അമൽപ്പൊരി
- Marathi
- सर्पगंधा
Apocynaceae
Dogbane family
Indian Snakeroot belongs to the Apocynaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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