Apocynaceae Rauvolfia viridis Willd. ex Roemer & Schultes

| |	© W.D. Hawthorne

Other images of the same specimen :

| 1 | 2 |

Places where this species can be found :

• Levera National Park - GRENADA
• La Sagesse - GRENADA
• Lake Antoine - GRENADA

Species information

Description
Shrub to c 2m; leaves with 3-4 in a whorl; blades 4-15cm long; 10-12 pairs laterals; margins recured; fruit with two fused drupes, sometimes with only one developing fully. Glands in leaf axils and on petioles.

Interest
Rauvolfia - honour of Leonhart Rauwolf (d. 1596), German physician and adventurous traveler in the Orient. Rauvolfia serpentina is the source of the antihypertensive compound reserpine. Reserpine revolutionized the Western treatment of hypertension in the 1950s, caused massive overharvesting of the species, and its inclusion on CITES Appendix II in 1990. Estimated sales of reserpine in 1989 in the USA were worth US$42 million, with estimates as high as US$260 million in 1994. Caribbean snakeroot (Rauvolfia viridis ), photographed on the island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. [Note: The generic name is sometimes spelled Rauwolfia.] The indole alkaloid reserpine is derived from the roots of another species of snakeroot (Rauvolfia serpentina). Reserpine is chemically similar to serotonin, and has been used to stop the schizophrenia-like symptoms of LSD and as a brain depressant for schizophrenic patients. Although R. serpentina is native to India, other species of Rauvolfia (such as this one) may be potential sources of reserpine.

Specimen information

Collector
W.D. Hawthorne

Specimen Number
788

Location
Riverbank of R. Antoine, not far from coast, with Citharexylum, Clove trees, Trichilia havanense

Notes
Younger and smaller leaves near inflorescence more anisophyllous than larger/lower. Common shrub in grazed areas. Berries becoming dark red.

Coordinates
Latitude: 12.100000 N   Longitude: 61.360000 W   Altitude: 0.0