Scientific name: Hoya parasitica (Roxb.) Wall. ex Wight
Family: Asclepiadaceae
Synonym: Asclepias parasitica Roxb.
Bengali/Vernacular name: Serapata hoya (Bengali), Chera pata (Rajshahi-Khulna).
Tribal name: Fessya gach (Chakma), Seya-souchii (Khasia), Nui-bawn (Rakhaing), Faissa gaith (Tanchangya), Chiki-phang (Tripura).
Description of the plant: An epiphytic, creeping plant. Leaves petiolate, glabrous, ovate-elliptic, lanceolate, oblong or elliptic, 10-16 cm long, fleshy, tips acute, base cuneate or obtuse. Cymes umbellate, many-flowered, solitary at the nodes, flowers pearly white.
Plant parts used: Leaf.
Ethnomedicinal uses: A paste is made with the leaves of the plant is applied on the affected parts of the body for seven days to treat gout.
Paste prepared from the leaves of the plant is applied on the forehead twice a day to treat headache, a piece of cloth can be used to fix the paste properly.
Decoction prepared from the leaves of the plant is taken three times a day (100 ml amount each time) until the paralysis and fever is cured.
Cottonseed-sized pills are made with the leaves of the plant is taken with honey and goat milk thrice a day (one pill each time) for seven days to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
The plant is used for the treatment of jaundice, tumour, leprosy, and diseases associated with cancer.
Distribution: The species commonly occurs throughout the country.
Is this plant misidentified? If yes, please tell us….
