Flower and plant for Id used in snakebite

[Shobha Halwe-Chavda]

Dear Friends,

Flower for id pl.Initially i thought it to be Clerodendrum inerme.But looks different. 

Date - May 2020

Location -Virar,near Mumbai.

  A post and these photos were shared on a  Fb group in Marathi.It seems a 'Sadhu' from Himalaya had come to Virar ( near Mumbai) and given a twig of this shrub for plantation.According to him,the juice of it's leaves was very effective on Snake bite and Scorpion bite.And really it turned out to be true.As per the post,a cow bitten by snake got completely cured by the leaf extract.and above all when tried on four girls who had consumed poison and gone into coma too were cured by this wonderful plant.Eager to know the species and wonder whether any studies are carried out on this species or not.Someone mentioned it as Volkameria aculeata on that group.Want to confirm.

Regards,

Shobha Chavda

   I am sharing a link of this post here.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/426670120680546/permalink/3537544842926376/

[J.M. Garg]

Hi, Shobha ji,

Yes, both seems quite close. I tried to find the difference between the two, but could get only in Flora of Pakistan.

Keys are as below:

3 (2)	Corolla-tube 2-3.5 cm long		(4)
+	Corolla-tube less than 2 cm long		(5)
4 (3)	Inflorescence of dichotomous axillary cymes, compactly arranged on young shoots to form a rounded terminal panicle. Bracts obovte-lanceolate. Corolla-tube pubescent outside, lobes 4-5 mm long (Wild)		Clerodendrum phlomidis
+	Inflorescence of usually trichotomous cymes in the axils of uppermost leaves, not panicled. Bracts linear, Corolla-tube glabrous outside. Lobes c. 8 mm long. (Cultivated)		Clerodendrum inerme
5 (3)	Plants armed with spines (formed by base of petiole). Corolla-tube c. 1.5 cm long. (Cultivated)		Clerodendrum aculeatum

I am giving below the details as per Flora of Pakistan:

Clerodendrum inerme (Linn.) Gaertn.:

An erect to scandent or trailing, evergreen shrub, up to 3 m tall, commonly used for hedges round the gardens etc. Leaves elliptic-ovate to obovate, opposite, entire, petiolate, subcoriaceous. Flowers white, in axillary, trichotomous cymes, terminating the branches, c. 2 cm across; pedicels 1.5-4 cm long; bracts minute, linear. Calyx 5-6 mm long, cupular, minutely 5-toothed, persistent, slightly broader than the base of corolla-tube. Corolla-tube 2.5-3.5 cm long, glabrous; lobes ovate, c. 8 mm long, obscurely crenulate, obtuse. Stamen filaments pubescent, dark violet or purple, much exserted, curved above. Drupe pear-shaped, c. 10 mm long, 4-lobed, glabrous, enclosed by the persistent calyx, green.

Distribution: A native of the sea coasts of India and Sri Lanka, introduced and naturalized along sea shores of Burma, Australia and China.

A very common hedge plant of the plains of Sind and Punjab. In Karachi it thrives well. Its cuttings are used for producing new plants.

Clerodendrum aculeatum (Linn.) Griseb.:

Erect spiny shrub, 1-2 m tall; spines formed from remnants of petiole on older branches, opposite and very small. Leaves ovate, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 2-5 cm long, 1-2 cm broad, acute, glabrous; petiole 5-10 mm long. Cymes lax, becoming spinescent, axillary in the upper leaves axils. Flowers white, c. 1.5 cm across. Calyx tubular, pubescent, 5-lobed; lobes ovate, acute. Corolla-tube c. 1.5 cm long, 5-lobed with lobes acute and shorter than the tube. Drupe breaking into 2 pyrenes on maturity.

Distribution: A native of the W. Indies, introduced in some parts of Africa and Asia.

Sometimes used as a hedge plant in gardens (Parker, l.c.).

Pl. check for the spines. I could see some in your 2nd image.

On perusal of these, I think your plant should be Volkameria aculeata

On Fri, 15 May 2020 at 15:13, Shobha Halwe-Chavda <koa...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Friends,

Flower for id pl.Initially i thought it to be Clerodendrum inerme.But looks different. 

Date - May 2020

Location -Virar,near Mumbai.

  A post and these photos were shared on a  Fb group in Marathi.It seems a 'Sadhu' from Himalaya had come to Virar ( near Mumbai) and given a twig of this shrub for plantation.According to him,the juice of it's leaves was very effective on Snake bite and Scorpion bite.And really it turned out to be true.As per the post,a cow bitten by snake got completely cured by the leaf extract.and above all when tried on four girls who had consumed poison and gone into coma too were cured by this wonderful plant.Eager to know the species and wonder whether any studies are carried out on this species or not.

Regards,

Shobha Chavda

   I am sharing a link of this post here.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/426670120680546/permalink/3537544842926376/

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

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[J.M. Garg]

Regarding Clerodendrum inerme (Linnaeus) Gaertner, Flora of China says leaf apex obtuse and Calyx subtruncate, with minute rudimentary teeth, while in Clerodendrum aculeatum (Linn.) Griseb as per Flora of Pakistan leaf apex obtuse and Calyx 5-lobed; lobes ovate, acute.

[Dinesh Valke]

I too strongly think that the posted plant is Clerodendrum aculeatum.

Regards.

Dinesh

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Dinesh ji

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/indiantreepix/CABSQqC0xMaw8q_uYoycBCQ50ZvriOv7ttVA_izuewfJ3DtLOYw%40mail.gmail.com.

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Lalithamba ji

On Wed, 20 May 2020 at 16:16, Lalithamba Avadhanam <alali...@gmail.com> wrote:

both C.inerme and C.aculeatum are wild in our area, inerme is often found near sea shores/ mangrove belt while other two not found. 

On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 1:33 PM J.M. Garg <jmg...@gmail.com> wrote:

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A.Lalithamba

[Shobha Halwe-Chavda]

Thanks Garg ji,Dinesh Ji and Lalithamba ji

Regards,

Shobha Chavda