N. O. AP0CYNACE.&. 777 



the aqueous solution rendered alkaline and agitated with ether. The ether 

 extract contained an alkaloid which gave marked precipitates with the usual 

 reagents. The dark brown yellowish resin, insoluble in ether and benzole, 

 was wholly soluble in ammonia, and on spontaneous evaporation left a brittle 

 residue. The ammoniacal solution when freshly made was yellow, but on 

 standing became green, and on spontaneous evaporation the solid residue 

 was brownish." (Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. II, p. 420.) 



748. Rauwolfia serpentina, Benth. h.f.b.i., hi. 

 632. 



Syn. : — Ophioxylon serpentinum, Linn., Roxb. 233. 



Sans. :— Sarpagandba ; Cliundrika. 



Vern. :— Chota-chand (H.) ; Chandra; Chota-chand (B.); 

 Chandra, chota-chand, karavi, harkai, (Bomb.) ; Harkaya 

 (Mar.) ; Patala gandhi, patala garuda (Tel.) ; Chuvanna-avilpori 

 (Malay.). 



Habitat : — Tropical Himalaya and plains near the foot of the 

 hills, from Sirhind and Moradabad to Sikkim. The Khasia 

 Mountain and in the Deccan Peninsula along the Ghats to 

 Travancore. 



A small, erect, glabrous shrub, 6-1 8in., rarely 2-3ft, in a rich 

 soil,climbing (Roxb). Bark white, rarely lenticilate. Leaves 3-7 by 

 lj-2|in., very pale beneath, elliptic lanceolate, or obovate, acute 

 or acuminate, nerves 8-12 pair, petiole -§-in. long, penduncle 

 2-5in., stout, branches and pedicels i-£ia. Flowers white or pin- 

 kish, nearly lin. long, arranged in terminal or lateral corymbose 

 cymes. Calyx small, bright red ; bracts minute, lanceolate. 

 Calyxlobes xV n - l° n g> lanceolate. Corolla about £in. long ; tube 

 slender, shortly globosely inflated above the middle, often curved, 

 margins of lobes of Calyx undulate. Disk membranous ; lobed. 

 Drupes in pair or single, black, £in. diam, broadly obliquely 

 ovoid ; endocarp slightly rugose. 



Parts used : — The root, leaves and juice. 



Uses : — It is held in high esteem by the natives as an antidote 

 to sanke-bites, but reliable evidence of its utility is wanting. It 

 is also valued as a tonic and febrifuge. Horsefield. (Asiat. 

 Journ., vol. viii., p. 148) states that the root yields a strong 



98 



