''Calotropis gigantea'', the crown flower, is a species of ''
Calotropis''
native to
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
,
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 ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
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 ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, and
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
.
It is a large
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
growing to tall. It has clusters of waxy flowers that are either white or lavender in colour. Each flower consists of five pointed
petal
Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
s and a small "crown" rising from the center which holds the
stamen
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s. The
aestivation
Aestivation ( (summer); also spelled estivation in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is characterized by inactivity and a lowered m ...
found in calotropis is valvate i.e. sepals or petals in a whorl just touch one another at the margin, without overlapping. The plant has oval, light green leaves and milky
stem. The latex of ''Calotropis gigantea'' contains
cardiac glycoside
Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses include treatments for ...
s,
fatty acid
In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an ...
s, and
calcium oxalate. The roots also contain
Calotropone.
Pollination
This plant plays host to a variety of insects and
butterflies
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
. It is the host plant for Hawaii's non-migratory
monarch butterflies. ''Calotropis'' is an example of
entomophily
Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, some ...
pollination (
pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...
by insects) and pollination is achieved with the help of bees. In ''Calotropis'', gynostegium is present (formed by the fusion of
stigma and
androecium
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
). The
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...
are in a structure named
pollinia which is attached to a glandular, adhesive disc at the stigmatic angle (translator mechanism). These sticky discs get attached to the legs of visiting bees that pull out pollinia when a bee moves away. When such a bee visits another flower, this flower might be pollinated by the pollinium.
Description
*Stem : Erect, branched, cylindrical, solid, contains milky latex.
*Leaves : long, decussate, obovate or elliptic-oblong, shortly acute, subsessile, cordate or often amplexicaul at the base.
*Inflorescence : Umbellate cymes.
*Flowers :
Large, white, not scented, peduncles arising between the petioles.
Flower-buds ovoid, angled, Calyx lobes 5, divided to the base, white, ovate; corolla broadly rotate, valvate, lobes 5, deltoid ovate, reflexed, coronate-appendages broad, obtusely 2-auricled below the rounded apex which is lower than the staminal-column.
Stamens 5, anthers short with membranous appendages, inflexed over the depressed apex of the pentagonal stigma.
Pollinium one in each cell, pendulous caudicles slender.
Carpels 2 distinct, styles 2, united to the single pentangular stigma, ovary 2-celled, ovules many.
*Fruit : A pair of follicles with many, hairy seeds.
*Flowering and Fruiting Time : November-April
Calotropis gigantea-crown flower 06.jpg
Calotropis gigantea-crown flower 05.jpg
Calotropis gigantea-crown flower 04.jpg
Calotropis gigantea-crown flower 02.jpg
Calotropis gigantea-crown flower 03.jpg
Calotropis gigantea-crown flower 01.jpg
A pair of follicles of Calotropis gigantea.jpg
Vernacular Names
*Calotropis gigantea* is known by various names across Indian languages and holds importance in traditional systems like Ayurveda and Siddha.
Uses
The flowers are long lasting, and in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
they are used in floral arrangements. The extract of flowers and leaves has shown hypoglycemic effect in preclinical studies. They were favored by 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
Queen Liliuokalani, who considered them a symbol of royalty and wore them strung into
leis. In
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, they are used in funerals to decorate the urn or sarcophagus and the interior of the house holding the funeral. The
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
is a
follicle and when dry,
seed dispersal
In spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant.
Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...
is by
wind
Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
. In
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
its flowers are called ''widuri''.
According to the
Shiva Purana, the madar flower/crown flower is very much liked by
Lord Shiva; therefore the crown flower and its garland are offered to Lord Shiva for peace, prosperity and stability in society. The Crown flower is also one of the major parts of the nine astrological trees (''Navagrah'' tree).
''Calotropis'' yields a durable fiber (commercially known as bowstring of India) useful for ropes, carpets, fishing nets, and sewing thread. Floss, obtained from seeds, is used as stuffing. Crown flower cotton can also be used to make a pillow. A fermented mixture of ''Calotropis'' and salt is used to remove the hair from goat skins for production of ''nari'' leather and from sheep skins to make leather which is much used for inexpensive book binding. Fungicidal which is far effective than oinmentand insecticidal properties of ''Calotropis'' have been reported.
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the plant is common in the compounds of
temples
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
and is known as ''madar'' in . Its leaf () is one of the five leaves used in the
Panch Pallava, a ritual assortment of five different leaves used as a totem by the
Maratha culture in India.
Allelopathic effects
Allelopathic effects of ''Calotropis'' on different agricultural crops have been well studied. Extracts of plant parts such as root, stem, and leaf affect germination and seedling vigor of many agricultural crops.
However, extracts of ''Calotropis'' failed to produce any detrimental effects on weeds such as ''
Chenopodium album'', ''
Melilotus alba'', ''
Melilotus indica'', ''
Sphaeranthus indicus'', and ''
Phalaris minor''.
Use as an arrow poison
Many plant and animal extracts have been used as
arrow poisons all over the world. In many cases, the poison was applied to the arrow or spear to aid the
hunting
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
of prey.
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids.
Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...
s are among the most powerful plant poisons, and extracts of ''
Strychnos
''Strychnos'' is a genus of flowering plants, belonging to the family Loganiaceae (sometimes Strychnaceae). The genus includes about 200 accepted species of trees and lianas. The genus is widely distributed around the world's tropics and is n ...
'' species are commonly used. Other arrow poisons are commonly
cardiac glycoside
Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses include treatments for ...
s, which can be found in
digitalis
''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves.
''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are ...
, but most of these arrow poisons are derived from plants in the family
Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae (, from '' Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Notable mem ...
. This family includes ''Calotropis gigantea'' and the more potent ''
Calotropis procera''. The
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 ...
of these plants has been used in Africa as an arrow poison. ''Apocynaceae'' species often contain a mixture of cardiac glycosides, including calactin, uscharin, calotoxin, and
calotropin.
These poisons work by inhibiting the
sodium-potassium pump, and this effect is especially potent in the
cardiac tissues.
The cardiac effects can be applied for heart medication, and digitalis has been used as such. However, excessive doses can cause
arrhythmia
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the cardiac cycle, heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – ab ...
, which can lead to death.
Medical uses
Given the potent
bioactivity of calotropin, ''calotropis gigantea'' has been used as a folk medicine in India for many years, and has been reported to have a variety of uses. In
Ayurveda
Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...
, Indian practitioners have used the root and leaf of ''C. procera'' in
asthma
Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...
and also used in bacterial infection, swelling with redness, boils also and shortness of breath and the bark in
liver
The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...
and
spleen
The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter.
The spleen plays important roles in reg ...
diseases. The plant is reported as effective in treating
skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...
,
digestive,
respiratory,
circulatory and
neurological
Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the s ...
disorders and was used to treat
fever
Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
s,
elephantiasis,
nausea
Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat.
Over 30 d ...
,
vomiting
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, pre ...
, and
diarrhea
Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...
. The milky juice of ''Calotropis procera'' was used against
arthritis
Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
,
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
, and as an
antidote
An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon antidoton)'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". An older term in English which is ...
for snake bite.
However, these reports are of folk uses and more research is needed to confirm the clinical usefulness of the leaves, latex, and bark. Recent studies have displayed use of calotropin as a
contraceptive and as a potential cancer medication.
In one study of the cancer-fighting properties of Calotropis gigantea,
DCM extracts were demonstrated to be strongly cytotoxic against
non-small cell lung carcinoma (
A549),
colon carcinoma (
HCT 116), and
hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer in adults and is currently the most common cause of death in people with cirrhosis. HCC is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
HCC most common ...
in hamsters (
Hep G2). These extracts show potential as cancer medications and warrant further clinical research.
Poisoning
Calotropis is a
poisonous plant. The active principles are
uscharin,
calotoxin,
calactin, and
calotropin. The leaves and stem when incised yield thick milky juice. It is used as an arrow poison, cattle poison ''(see also
Sutari)'', rarely for suicide and homicide and mostly an accidental poison.
The milky latex sap of ''Calotropis gigantea'' is a known cause of toxic
keratoconjunctivitis and reversible vision loss. Crown flower keratitis is a rare condition and is usually the result of accidental ocular exposure to the sap. During the process of making a Hawaiian lei flower necklace, touching the sap and then touching the ocular surface may result in crown flower keratitis. Damage (poisoning) of the cornea endothelium results in corneal stromal edema and decreased visual acuity. Although there is some permanent damage to the corneal endothelium with decreased endothelial cell count and irregular shape, the remaining corneal endothelial cells usually recover with complete resolution of the corneal edema and a return to normal visual acuity. The condition is usually self-limited and resolves faster with topical steroids. The clinical course of this condition suggests that ''Calotropis'' is paradoxically relatively nontoxic to corneal epithelium and highly toxic to corneal endothelium. The painless clinical course may be related to anesthetic properties of ''Calotropis'' latex and relatively minor epithelial injury.
Signs and symptoms
Applied to the skin, it causes redness and vesication. When taken orally, the juice produces an acrid, bitter taste and burning pain in throat and stomach, salivation, stomatitis, vomiting, diarrhea, dilated pupils, tetanic convulsions, collapse and death. The fatal period is 6 to 12 hours. Treatment includes stomach wash, demulcents, and symptomatic treatment.
Mosquito controlling properties
''C. gigantea'' is reported to exhibit mosquito controlling properties against ''
Culex gelidus'' and ''
Culex tritaeniorhynchus'' mosquitoes which serve as vectors for
Japanese encephalitis. The aqueous extract of the ''C. gigantea'' leaves demonstrated significant larvicidal, repellent and ovicidal activity.
Literary references
In the Paushya chapter of the
Adi Parva
The Adi Parva ("Book of the Beginning") is the first of the eighteen ''parvas'' (books) of the Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. "Ādi" (wiktionary:आदि#Sanskrit, आदि) in Sanskrit means "first". Adi Parva traditionally has 19 parts and 236 ' ...
portion of the Indian epic
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
, a disciple of the
rishi
In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...
Ayoda-Daumya named Upamanya goes blind by eating the leaves of the plant which in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
is called ''arka''.
However, in India, among the general public, it is the belief that ''akada'' (''arka'') is a poisonous plant and can make people intoxicated. Lord Shiva is offered ''akada'' along with ''dhatura'' (botanically:
Datura metel) (extremely toxic) flowers on auspicious days.
"श्वेतार्क का पेड" is the name of the tree and flowers are called as "अकौआ" ओर "श्वेतार्क के फूल" in Hindi. In Marathi the local name is Ruhi (pronounced ruheé).
In Hindu mythology, it is considered the favourite flower of
Lord Shiva and hence its flowers are commonly offered to the deity. It is a belief that the flower makes the deity happy, subsequent to which he showers his blessings upon the worshippers.
References
External links
PIER - ''Calotropis gigantea''*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q525166
Asclepiadoideae
Flora of Asia
Butterfly food plants
Plants described in 1811
Articles containing video clips