Family: Asclepiadaceae
Synonym:Asclepias cubensis Wender.
Bengali/Vernacular name: Moricha, Kakturi, Bankarpas.
Tribal name:Dumdi (Khumi), Dingdi par (Lushai), Masi gain da (Marma).
English name:Blood flower, Tropical milkweed, Mexican milkweed, Scarlet milkweed.
Description of the plant: An erect perennial herb, up to 1 m tall, stem branched. Leaves opposite, petiolate, narrowly lanceolate, 10-12 cm in length, tapering towards both ends.Cymes umbel-like with 8-10 flowers, solitary at the nodes; flowers orange-red, 1.2-1.4 cm in length.Fruit a follicle, narrow and pointed at both ends.
Plant parts used: Leaf, stem, flower, and root.
Herbal uses: Poultice made with leaves and stems of the plant is used to treat ringworm and bleeding.
A powder made with the dried roots of the plant is taken twice a day (5 g amount each time) for 15 days to treat gonorrhoea.
A paste prepared from the crushed leaves and stems of the plant, combined with salt, vegetable oil, and bread, is used for treating skin ulcers, sores, and rashes.
A fresh juice extracted from the roots of the plant is taken twice a day (5 ml amount each time) until the tuberculosis is cured.
Infusion of roots with a little sugar is used for blennorrhagia and leucorrhoeatreatment.
Flowers bruised in cold water are used as poultice for headache.
Powder made with the dried roots of the plant is used to treat piles.
Decoction of dried plant isused as cardiac tonic; also for tonsillitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, urethritis, internal bleeding, and externally for woundstreatment.
The plant is used to treat cancer, wart, haemorrhoids, roundworm infestation, and abdominal tumours.
Distribution: The species occurs in many parts of the country.
Is this plant misidentified? If yes, please tell us….
