Apocynaceae Rauvolfia viridis Willd. ex Roemer & Schultes

| |	© W.D. Hawthorne

Other images of the same specimen :

| 1 | 2 |

Keywords in this picture :

• Foliage
• Lamina leaf blade
• Twig
• Vegetative
• Venation
• Leaf parts
• Stem
• Leaf
• Plant parts

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

Collection Date
15/06/2001

Collector
W.D. Hawthorne, S.Cable & D. Jules

Specimen Number
526

Location
Along road to mangroves about 1 km from park entrance.

Notes
Treelet 2.5 m tall. FLOWERS: white.

Coordinates
Latitude: 12.120000 N   Longitude: 61.360000 W   Altitude: 5