''Rauvolfia'' (sometimes spelled ''Rauwolfia'') is a genus of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and shrubs, commonly known as devil peppers, in the family

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") 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 genus is named to honor

Leonhard Rauwolf Leonhard Rauwolf (also spelled Leonhart Rauwolff) (21 June 1535 – 15 September 1596) was a German physician, botanist, and traveller. His main notability arises from a trip he made through the Levant and Mesopotamia in 1573–75. The motive of t ...

. The genus can mainly be found in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, and various oceanic islands.

Spelling

The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants stipulates that the genus name was established by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

in his 1753 book '' Species Plantarum'', which cites his earlier description which states in Botanical Latin that the name is dedicated "to Leonhard Rauwolf": "''Leon. Rauvolfio''". Although some subsequent authors hypercorrected the

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later period ...

letter "v" to a modern "w", this is not accepted by the code of nomenclature.

Chemical constituents

'' Rauvolfia serpentina'', commonly known as Indian snakeroot or ''sarpagandha'', contains many indole alkaloids.

Medicinal uses

Reserpine is an

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

first isolated from '' R. serpentina'' and was widely used as an antihypertensive drug

Conservation

'' Rauvolfia serpentina'' is declining in the wild due to collection for its medicinal uses. Consequently, it is listed in

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

Appendix II. '' Rauvolfia vomitoria'' is a highly invasive species in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, and is capable of establishing dense monotypic stands.

Species

Species include: ;formerly included # ''Rauvolfia celastrifolia'' Baker = '' Stephanostegia hildebrandtii'' Baill. # ''Rauvolfia dentata'' Tafalla ex D.Don = '' Citharexylum dentatum'' D.Don # ''Rauvolfia flexuosa'' Ruiz & Pav. = '' Citharexylum flexuosum'' (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don # ''Rauvolfia glabra'' Cav. = '' Vallesia glabra'' (Cav.) Link # ''Rauvolfia laevigata'' Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. = '' Tabernaemontana amygdalifolia'' Jacq. # ''Rauvolfia longifolia'' A.DC. = '' Alstonia longifolia'' (A.DC.) Pichon # ''Rauvolfia macrophylla'' Ruiz & Pav. 1799 not Stapf 1894 = '' Citharexylum flexuosum'' (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don # ''Rauvolfia oppositifolia'' Spreng. 1822 not Sessé & Moc. 1888 = '' Tabernaemontana oppositifolia'' (Spreng.) Urb. # ''Rauvolfia pubescens'' Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. = '' Citharexylum quitense'' Spreng. # ''Rauvolfia spinosa'' Cav. = '' Citharexylum flexuosum'' (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don # ''Rauvolfia stenophylla'' Donn.Sm. = '' Alstonia longifolia'' (A.DC.) Pichon # ''Rauvolfia strempelioides'' Griseb. = '' Strempeliopsis strempelioides'' (Griseb.) Benth. ex B.D.Jacks. # ''Rauvolfia striata'' Poir. = ''

Ochrosia borbonica ''Ochrosia borbonica'' is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native to Mauritius and Réunion, and naturalized in Guangdong Province in China. The species is listed as endangered. References

Ochrosia, borbonica Endanger ...

'' J.F.Gmel.

References

Bibliography

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q1145247, from2=Q18983842 Medicinal plants Apocynaceae genera