Scientific Name
Podophyllum emodi Wall. ex Hook. f. & Thomson
Synonyms
Podophyllum hexandrum Royle
Family
Podophyllaceae
Local Name
Ban Kakri
Habit Habitat
A very costly perennial herb, up to 40-60 cm tall, with vertically creeping rhizome, found in temperate, sub-alpine and alpine zones.
Taxonomic Features
Leaves palmate, deeply 3-5 lobed, long petioled, lateral lobes obliquely ovate, middle lobes broadly elliptic and symmetrical, all lobes sharply toothed, acute. Flower actinomorphic, white to pale, terminal in bud but become supra axillary later. Sepals-3, oblong, petaloid. Petals obovate-oblong. Fruit a pulpy berry, many seeded, red on ripening.
Flowering and fruiting: March-May.
Flowering and fruiting: March-May.
Flowering Fruiting
March-May
Harvesting Time
May-September
Medicinal Value
It possesses purgative and anticancer properties and used as a paint in the treatment of soft venereal and warts and as a bitter tonic. The rhizome contains an alkaloid that is used for cancer treatment. Locally it is used as hepatic stimulant and purgative. Fruit is eaten in gastric problems. It is a poisonous plant used in small doses.
Parts Used
Fruit and rhizome
Future Prospective
Conservation, Cultivation, Herbal Pharmacy, Allopathic Pharmacy.
Plant Images
Podophyllum emodi Wall. ex Hook. f. & Thomson