''Rauvolfia vomitoria'', the poison devil's-pepper, is a plant species in the genus ''

Rauvolfia ''Rauvolfia'' (sometimes spelled ''Rauwolfia'') is a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, commonly known as devil peppers, in the family Apocynaceae. The genus is named to honor Leonhard Rauwolf. The genus can mainly be found in Tropics, trop ...

''. It is native from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

east to

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, south to

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

; and naturalized in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, different ranges of Himalayan and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The plant contains a number of compounds of interest to the pharmaceutical industry and is widely used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

Description

''Rauvolfia vomitoria'' is a small tree or large shrub, growing to 26 ft (8m)high. The branches grow in whorls, and the leaves grow from swollen nodes in groups of three. The leaf blades are broadly lanceolate or elliptical, tapering to a long point. The small, fragrant flowers are followed by globular red fruit. All parts of the plant, except the mature wood, contain

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

Ecology

This is a fast-growing tree that produces large quantities of seeds which are dispersed by birds. The seedlings and saplings are tolerant of shade and the tree regenerates after cutting or burning, soon forming dense thickets. ''Rauvolfia vomitoria'' has been identified as an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

in the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

an island of

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Uses

''Rauvolfia vomitoria'' has been used across its range in

. A decoction or extract of the roots is used for diarrhea, jaundice, venereal disease, rheumatism, snake-bites, colic, fever, to calm people with anxiety or epilepsy, and to lower blood pressure. The macerated root, or sometimes the pulped fruit, is used for a variety of skin conditions, and the bark, twigs, and leaves are used as a purgative and

emetic Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, preg ...

. Every part of the tree is toxic, and this is put to use with a paste made from the pulverized root being coated on arrow tips and spears for hunting, and by being mixed with

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

meal to make

rat poison Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, groundhog, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Some rod ...

. The plant contains a number of

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

s used by the pharmaceutical industry; these include

reserpine Reserpine is a drug that is used for the treatment of hypertension, high blood pressure, usually in combination with a thiazide diuretic or vasodilator. Large clinical trials have shown that combined treatment with reserpine plus a thiazide diur ...

, reserpinine, deserpidine, ajmalicine, and ajmaline. In the 1970s, the bark from stems and roots was harvested from which reserpine was extracted and sold for human use. Reserpine is still available, but has been largely replaced by less toxic products. 2,6-Dimethoxybenzoquinone is a benzoquinone found in ''R. vomitoria''.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5225969 vomitora Plants described in 1817 Flora of Africa