Rauvolfia

Spelling

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

Conservation

Rauvolfia serpentina is declining in the wild due to collection for its medicinal uses. Consequently, it is listed in CITES Appendix II. Rauvolfia vomitoria is a highly invasive species in Hawaii, and is capable of establishing dense monotypic stands.

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted these species:

1. Rauvolfia afra Sond. – Africa from Togo east to Tanzania, south to Cape Province
2. Rauvolfia amsoniifolia A.DC. – Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku, Lesser Sunda Islands
3. Rauvolfia andina Markgr. – Peru
4. Rauvolfia anomala Rapini & I.Koch – Brazil (Mato Grosso)
5. Rauvolfia aphlebia (Standl.) A.H.Gentry – Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia
6. Rauvolfia atlantica Emygdio – Brazil (Bahia)
7. Rauvolfia bahiensis A.DC. – Eastern Brazil
8. Rauvolfia balansae (Baill.) Boiteau – New Caledonia
9. Rauvolfia biauriculata Müll.Arg. – Cuba, Haiti, Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago
10. Rauvolfia capixabae I.Koch & Kin.-Gouv – Brazil (Bahia, Espírito Santo)
11. Rauvolfia capuronii Markgr. – Madagascar
12. Rauvolfia chaudocensis Pierre ex Pit. – Vietnam
13. Rauvolfia cubana A.DC. – Cuba; naturalized in China (Yunnan)
14. Rauvolfia cumminsii Stapf – West Africa
15. Rauvolfia decurva Hook.f. – India
16. Rauvolfia dichotoma K.Schum. – São Tomé
17. Rauvolfia gracilis I.Koch & Kin.-Gouv. – Brazil (Rondônia, Mato Grosso)
18. Rauvolfia grandiflora Mart. ex A.DC. – Eastern Brazil
19. Rauvolfia hookeri S.R.Sriniv. & Chithra – South India
20. Rauvolfia insularis Markgr. – Palau
21. Rauvolfia × ivanovii Granda & V.R.Fuentes – Cuba (R. ligustrina × R. viridis)
22. Rauvolfia javanica Koord. & Valeton – Java, Sumatra, Lesser Sunda Islands
23. Rauvolfia kamarora Hendrian – Sulawesi
24. Rauvolfia leptophylla A.S.Rao – Colombia, Venezuela
25. Rauvolfia letouzeyi Leeuwenb. – Gabon, Republic of Congo
26. Rauvolfia leucopoda K.Schum. ex De Wild. & T.Durand – Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
27. Rauvolfia ligustrina Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. – from Mexico and Cuba south to Paraguay and northeast Argentina
28. Rauvolfia linearifolia Britton & P.Wilson – Cuba
29. Rauvolfia littoralis Rusby – Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador
30. Rauvolfia macrantha K.Schum. ex Markgr. – Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, northern Brazil, Peru
31. Rauvolfia mannii Stapf – tropical Africa from Ivory Coast to Tanzania, south to Malawi
32. Rauvolfia mattfeldiana Markgr. – Brazil
33. Rauvolfia maxima Markgr. – Venezuela
34. Rauvolfia media Pichon – Comoros, Madagascar
35. Rauvolfia micrantha Hook.f. – South India, southern Thailand, Vietnam
36. Rauvolfia microcarpa Hook.f. – Myanmar
37. Rauvolfia moluccana Markgr. – Maluku, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago
38. Rauvolfia mombasiana Stapf – Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique
39. Rauvolfia moricandii A.DC. – Eastern Brazil
40. Rauvolfia nana E.A.Bruce – Angola, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo
41. Rauvolfia nitida Jacq. – West Indies, Panama, southern Mexico
42. †Rauvolfia nukuhivensis (Fosberg & Sachet) Lorence & Butaud – French Polynesia but extinct
43. Rauvolfia obscura K.Schum. – West tropical Africa
44. Rauvolfia obtusiflora A.DC. – Madagascar
45. Rauvolfia oligantha Hendrian – Java
46. Rauvolfia pachyphylla Markgr. – Venezuela, Guyana
47. Rauvolfia paraensis Ducke – Northern Brazil, Peru, Suriname, French Guiana
48. Rauvolfia paucifolia A.DC. – Eastern Brazil
49. Rauvolfia pentaphylla Ducke – Northern Brazil, Peru
50. Rauvolfia polyphylla Benth. – Southern Venezuela, northern Brazil
51. Rauvolfia praecox K.Schum. ex Markgr. – Western Brazil, Peru, Bolivia
52. Rauvolfia pruinosifolia I.Koch & Kin.-Gouv. – Brazil (Minas Gerais)
53. Rauvolfia purpurascens Standl. – Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador
54. Rauvolfia rhonhofiae Markgr. – Ecuador
55. Rauvolfia rivularis Merr. – Myanmar
56. Rauvolfia rostrata Markgr. – Maluku, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago
57. Rauvolfia sachetiae Fosberg – Marquesas in French Polynesia
58. Rauvolfia salicifolia Griseb. – Cuba
59. Rauvolfia sanctorum Woodson – Colombia, Peru
60. Rauvolfia sandwicensis A.DC. – Hawaiian Islands (Hawaii)
61. Rauvolfia schuelii Speg. – Bolivia, northern Argentina
62. Rauvolfia sellowii Müll.Arg. – Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina (Misiones Province)
63. Rauvolfia semperflorens (Müll.Arg.) Schltr. – New Caledonia
64. Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz – Indian Subcontinent, China, Southeast Asia
65. Rauvolfia sevenetii Boiteau – New Caledonia
66. Rauvolfia spathulata Boiteau – New Caledonia
67. Rauvolfia sprucei Müll.Arg. – Southern Venezuela, Peru, northern Brazil
68. Rauvolfia steyermarkii Woodson – Venezuela (Táchira)
69. Rauvolfia sumatrana Jack – China (Guangdong), Thailand, Myanmar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines
70. Rauvolfia tetraphylla L. – from Mexico and West Indies to Peru; naturalized in China, Indian Subcontinent, Andaman Islands, Vietnam, Queensland
71. Rauvolfia tiaolushanensis Tsiang – China (Hainan)
72. Rauvolfia verticillata (Lour.) Baill. – China, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines
73. Rauvolfia viridis Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. – West Indies, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela
74. Rauvolfia volkensii (K.Schum.) Stapf – Tanzania
75. Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. – tropical Africa from Senegal east to Sudan and Tanzania, south to Angola; naturalized in China, Bangladesh, Puerto Rico
76. Rauvolfia weddeliana Müll.Arg. – Brazil, Paraguay
77. Rauvolfia woodsoniana Standl. – Costa Rica

;formerly included

1. Rauvolfia celastrifolia Baker = Stephanostegia hildebrandtii Baill.
2. Rauvolfia dentata Tafalla ex D.Don = Citharexylum dentatum D.Don
3. Rauvolfia flexuosa Ruiz & Pav. = Citharexylum flexuosum (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don
4. Rauvolfia glabra Cav. = Vallesia glabra (Cav.) Link
5. Rauvolfia indosinensis Pichon = Rauvolfia micrantha Hook.f.
6. Rauvolfia laevigata Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. = Tabernaemontana amygdalifolia Jacq.
7. Rauvolfia longifolia A.DC. = Alstonia longifolia (A.DC.) Pichon
8. Rauvolfia macrophylla Ruiz & Pav. 1799 not Stapf 1894 = Citharexylum flexuosum (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don
9. Rauvolfia oppositifolia Spreng. 1822 not Sessé & Moc. 1888 = Tabernaemontana oppositifolia (Spreng.) Urb.
10. Rauvolfia peguana Hook.f. = Rauvolfia verticillata (Lour.) Baill.
11. Rauvolfia pubescens Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. = Citharexylum quitense Spreng.
12. Rauvolfia spinosa Cav. = Citharexylum flexuosum (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don
13. Rauvolfia stenophylla Donn.Sm. = Alstonia longifolia (A.DC.) Pichon
14. Rauvolfia strempelioides Griseb. = Strempeliopsis strempelioides (Griseb.) Benth. ex B.D.Jacks.
15. Rauvolfia striata Poir. = Ochrosia borbonica J.F.Gmel.
16. Rauvolfia vietnamensis Lý = Rauvolfia micrantha Hook.f.

References

Bibliography

References

1. "''Rauvolfia'' L.".
2. "''Rauvolfia'' L.". Missouri Botanical Garden.
3. [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=128021 Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 157 萝芙木属 luo fu mu shu ''Rauvolfia'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 208. 1753.]
4. {{harv. McNeill et al. 2012
5. Linnaeus, C.. (1753). "Species plantarum: exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas". Lars Salvius.
6. Linnaeus, C.. (1737). "Hortus Cliffortianus".
7. {{harv. McNeill et al. 2012
8. [http://faculty.iiitd.ac.in/~bagler/webservers/SerpentinaDB/ SerpentinaDB]
9. (2008-11-24). "India's wild medicinal plants threatened by over-exploitation". International Union for Conservation of Nature.
10. (2009-05-22). "Appendices I, II and III". Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species.
11. (May 1989). "Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced)". United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.