Dilip Walse Patil

Scientific Name : Cryptolepis buchananii R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult.

Category : Angiosperms

Status : Alive

Morphological Characteristics It is a large climbing shrub with glabrous, shining leaves. Stem is cylindrical; branches pale, glabrous, milky latex present, basal portion black and dotted. The external surface of the root is dark brown or blackish with few transverse cracks. Bark adheres closely to the wood and is odourless. Leaves are 7.5 – 12.5 cm X 3.8 – 6.3 cm in size, elliptic, oblong or oblong – lanceolate, apex retuse or acute, apiculate, green above and whitish beneath. Floral Characteristics Flowers are pale greenish-yellow in short axillary panicled cymes and bracteate. Bracts are ovate-lanceolate with scarious margins. Calyx is lobed, ovate and acute; corolla is lobed, lobes 0.6 cm long and linear or linear-lanceolate. Fruit is a follicle, 2.5-10 cm long, stout, straight, terete and tapering. Seeds are 0.5 cm long in size, ovate-oblong, compressed and black in colour. Distribution The plant is distributed all over tropical and sub-tropical regions in India. Flowering: March-August. Significance: It is used against bone fracture. Root is demulcent, alterative, tonic and is useful in loss of appetite, fever and skin diseases. It is considered as a blood purifier and extensively used in skin diseases and leprosy. It is prescribed to children for rickets