Cyathea spinulosa Wall.ex Hook– Tree Fern

Botanical Name : Cyathea spinulosa Wall.ex Hook Synonyms : Alsophila fauriei H. Christ Alsophila spinulosa (Wall.ex Hook.) R.M. Tryon Cyathea taiwanian Nakai Alsophila decipiens Jcott ex Bedd. Amphicosmia decipiens (J. Scott ex Bedd.) Bedd. 

Family : Cyatheaceae

Habitat: In deep shade usually in moist place in the lower mountainous forest. Distribution India, Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, China, Taiwan. Odisha (Bonai, Keonjhar, South Kalahandi, Gunpur, Sambalpur, Mahendragiri, Malayagiri) 

Fertile time: December - March 

Conservation Status: Threatened 

Description:
Habit : The tree have a single stemmed palm like habit and it reach height of 5-6 meters. 
Trunk : Trunk 5-15 m, 10-20 cm in diameter, densely covered by adventitious roots. Stipes dark purplish distinctly. Spiny near base; scale shining dark brown, stiff, their bases laser develop in to spines. 
Laminae : Laminae about 3m long, 1.5 m wide, ca. 23 pairs of pinnae, a few basal pinnae reduced. Pinna-rachis bearing scales, pinnules broadly cuneate at sub-sessile base, acuminate at apex, about 8 cm long.
Sori : Sori at forks of lateral veinlets, indusial globose, thin membranous, completely enveloping sori from base when young, irregularly falling off at maturity.

Uses : The whole part of the plant is used for graying of hair and also used as general hair tonic. Powder of fronds are used as a sudorific and aphrodisiac. Whole plant used as ornamental. 
Trunk : It is used for orchid cultivation. Pith from the trunks is used as a food production and also stem as food & used in making pots. Trunk fibers used for orchid tissue culture media. The stem can be used in traditional Chinese medicine for eliminating dampness and strengthening muscles and joints. 
Root : Root are used for the preparation of local drink.

Source: 
 B. P. Singh & R. Upadhyay. Ethno-botanical importance of Pteridophytes used by the tribe of Pachmarhi, Central India . J. Med. Plants Res., Jan. 2012,Vol.6(1).PP.14-18. 
 Kumari et al. Some ethno-medicinally important pterydophytes of India. Int. J. Arom. Plants. Vol.1(1),June 2011. PP. 18-22. 
 M. Hegde et.al. (2013). Indian plants in the CITES Appendices – A Check list. 
 Saxena, H.O. & Brahmam, M. (1994). The Flora of Orissa, Vol. IV, pp: 2597-2598. 
 www.iucnredlist.org

Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz. – Midnight horror tree

Botanical Name: Oroxylom indicum (L.) Kurz. Synonyms: Bignonia indica L., Calosanthes indica (L.) Blume. Bignonia pentandra Laur.

 Family : Bignoniaceae

Local Name:  English : Midnight horror tree Hindi : Sagru Oriya : Phanaphana Tamil : Konda Bengali : Sona

Habitat: It is found occasional in mixed deciduous forests, especially in hills.

Distribution:  India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Bhutan, China.

Flowering time: July-August Fruiting time: December-March

Conservation Status: Endangered

Description: 
Habit :- Oroxylum indicum is a small branched tree with 5-10 m high, laxly branched or unbranched.
Leaf :- Leaves opposite, 2-4 pinnately compound. Leaflets triangular-ovate, glabrous, becoming after drying, base sub rounded, oblique, margin entire.
Flower :- Inflorescence racemose, terminal, calyx large, purple, broadly campanulate, fleshy. Corolla purple-red, campanulate, limb slightly bilabiate, tomentose basally, stamen 5, sub equal, style filiform, stigma ligulate, compressed.
Fruit :- Capsule woody, valves with midrib, margin convex. Seed rounded, winged including papery.

Uses: The bark, leaves, root, root bark, fruits, leaves and seeds are used to treat snake bite.
Bark :- The decoction of the bark is taken for curing gastric ulcer and a paste made of the bark applied to cure mouth cancer, scabies and other skin diseases. Juice of the bark is used as a tonic and astringent useful in diarrhea, diaphoretic, rheumatism and dysentery.
Root :- It is used to cure inflammations, leprosy, dropsy, sprains, neuralgia, hiccough, cough, asthma, bronchitis, anorexia, dyspepsia, diarrhea, dysentery. Root Bark :- It is used as astringent, bitter tonic, stomachic, anodyne and sudorific and also useful in diarrhea, dysentery and ottorrhoea.
 Leaf :- Paste of leaves are used externally to treat an enlarged spleen, headache and ulcer, also used as emollient & anodyne.
Fruit :- Tender fruits are prescribed for expectorant, carminative and stomachic and also useful in cough, bronchitis, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic and leucoderma. The mature fruits are to cure acrid, sweet, anthelmintic and stomachic and also useful in sore throat, cardiac disorders, worm infestations, gastric disorders, bronchitis.
Seed :- The seed are used as purgative.

Source 
 Mao, A.A.; Oroxylum indicum Vent.-A potential anticancer Medicinal plant. 
 Saxena, H.O. & Brahmam, M. (1994). The Flora of Orissa, Vol.II, pp: 1300-1301. 
 Sharma P.C.; Yelne M.B.; Dennis T.J.(2005 ).Database on Medicinal Plants used in Ayurveda, Vol.II pp: 490-499. 
 Sharma R. (2003). Medicinal plants of IndiaAn encyclopedia, pp 179-180. 
 Swain B.K & Das S.K. (2007) Visual guide to wild medicinal plants of Orissa, pp 353. 
 www.en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ oroxylum_indicum 

Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz. – Sarpagandha

Botanical Name : Rauvolfia serpentina (L) Benth. ex Kurz. Synonyms: Ophioxylon serpentinum L. Family : Apocynaceae  

Local Name : English : Indian Snakeroot Hindi : Sarpagandha Oriya : Sarpagandha, Patal Garuda Telegu : Patal garud Kannada : Chhedabag 

Habitat :  Widely scattered, mostly found in moist deciduous forests.

Distribution : India, Tropical Himalaya, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Burma, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Bangladesh. 

Flowering & Fruiting time: May-December

Conservation Status : Endangered 

Description :
Habit :- It is an erect perennial shrub with a long, irregularly, nodular, yellowish root stock.
Leaf :- Leaves are whorled, rarely opposite, with glands, axillary buds, narrowly elliptic, apex acute to acuminate & surface glabrous, bright green and shining above. 

Flower :- Inflorescence solitary; flowers are small, white with pink tube, in terminal, peduncle, calyx and corolla red or reddish, corolla white, long hairy inside distal half. Stamens inserted at middle of corolla tube.
Fruit :- Drupe ellipsoid, black in colour when ripped, endocarp a little rugose.

Uses:
The bark, root and leaves are used against snakebite and scorpion poisoning in traditional medicine and also used for high blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety and disorders of the cerebral epilepsy. 
Root :- The root is considered as an antidote to snake venom and scorpion sting. It is widely used for bitter, acrid, laxative, anthelmintic, thermogenic and diuretic and possess powerful sedative properties. It is highly reputed for hypertension and is useful in strangury, fever, wounds, colic, insomnia, epilepsy, giddiness, dyspepsia and vitiated conditioned of severe cold. The decocation of the root is used to increase uterine contractions. Leaf :- The juice of the leaves are used as remedy for the removal of opacities of the cornea and also tender leaves are used for stomach pain.

Source :
 Saxena, H.O. & Brahmam, M. (1994)- The Flora of Orissa,Vol.II, pp: 1067. 
 Sharma R. (2003). Medicinal plants of IndiaAn encyclopedia, pp 211. 
 Swain B.K & Das S.K. (2007) . Visual guide to wild medicinal plants of Orissa, pp 319-320. 
 Vaidyaratnam P S Varier’s Arya Vaidya Sala, Indian medicinal plants a compendium of 500 species. vol.4. pp.409-410. 

• www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ rauvolfia_serpentina

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