Rauvolfia serpentina Seeds | Indian Snakeroot
LATIN NAME: Rauvolfia serpentina
COMMON NAME: Indian Snakeroot
Plant Profile
A distinctive member of its genus, Indian Snakeroot (Rauvolfia serpentina) is a shrub in the dogbane family. Few plants carry a heavier name in medicine books than the Indian snakeroot, and low, white-flowered shrub earned it hard way. Upright, evergreen shrub carries whorls of narrow, pointed leaves and small, white or pinkish, funnel-shaped flowers in dense heads through year, to be followed by small, dark, glossy fruits. Thick roots have one of longest records in old practice of the warm East, and plant is a fine, quiet presence of warm border and study garden. Few species give back so generously for so little effort.
Science & Biotechnology
Sarpagandha changed medicine twice. Its alkaloid reserpine, isolated in 1952, became the first plant-derived antihypertensive and, by depleting neurons of stored monoamines, gave psychiatry both a tool and the monoamine hypothesis of depression — reserpine’s own notorious side effect. Whole-root preparations are gentler than pure reserpine but share its liabilities: depression, nasal congestion and potentiation of sedatives. Wild populations have been depleted by collection, so cultivated sources matter. It is a prescription-level drug in herbal form, and combination with antidepressants or antihypertensives requires medical supervision.
Like other members of the dogbane family, Rauvolfia serpentina draws steady attention from botanists and plant breeders, who value the genus both as a subject of research and as a source of garden-worthy material. Few subjects of plant science carry a longer clinical record than the Indian snakeroot, and white-flowered shrub has been studied for calm it brought to old practice. For practical purposes the message is encouraging: generations of cultivation have produced plants of predictable, well-mannered garden character.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Indian Snakeroot earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. The Indian snakeroot has one of longest clinical records of any plant of old practice. It has been written up in medical and botanical papers for clinical record and the very long history of the root, and it is a fine, historic plant of the open, sunny to partly shaded, well-drained garden. The Indian snakeroot is one of historic medicine shrubs of the warm East, and whorls of narrow leaves keep low shrub neat through the year. In later seasons it demands little more than an appreciative eye.
Rauvolfia serpentina changed medicine: its reserpine was the first modern antihypertensive and opened psychopharmacology. The plant is potent and prescription-territory, a living lesson in why plant chemistry deserves respect.
Growing from Seed
Indian Snakeroot grows readily from seed. Scatter the seed evenly over a loose seed compost, cover to no more than its own depth, and keep the pot moist and bright. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Part of this plant’s appeal is the long practical history summarized above. Among the Rauvolfia group, it is one of the more distinctive species in cultivation. Plant it in sun with drainage to its liking and the rest is easy.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Indian Snakeroot often pair it with these related subjects: