Strychnos nux-vomica L.

 
  • Family : LOGANIACEAE
    (Logania Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : KAJARA FAMILY (कजरा फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Loganiaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Strychnos vomica St.-Lag.; Strychnos nux-vomica var. oligosperma Dop; Strychnos ovalifolia Stokes; Strychnos spireana Dop
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Strychnos nux-vomica L.
  • Common name : Poison nut Tree, Quaker Button, Nux-vomica Tree, Snakewood Tree, Strychnine tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Kuchala, Kajara (Hindi)
    • Kasarkana mara, Kaasarka (Kannada)
    • Ettimaram, Kanjaram, Yetti, Kancharam (Tamil)
    • Mushti, Mushini, Visha mushti, Pedda mushti (Telugu)
    • Karaskara (Sanskrit)
    • Etti, Kangnalam, Kanjiram, Kanniram, Kariram (Malayalam)
    • Kochila, Kora, Kochila khai, Kosila (Oria)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical moist deciduous forests, Tropical dry deciduous forests, also in the plains
  • Comments / notes : Common in deciduous forests of all hill ranges up to 1400m, often undisturbed near habitations or by arable lands. Seeds are poisonous and used for the extraction of alkaloids like strychnine and brucine
  • Key identification features : Medium sized to large trees; tendrils axillary, short, clavate; Leaves elliptic, ovate to suborbicular, 3-5 nerved, coriaceous, glabrous; Flowers whitish in terminal, short peduncled cymes; Fruits globose, yellowish orange; Seeds orbicular.
  • Flower, Fruit : March-December
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Srikakulam district, Vishakapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, East Godavari district, West Godavari district, Krishna district, Guntur district, Prakasam district, Kurnool district, Nellore district, Kadapa district, Anantapur district, Chittoor district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Tamil Nadu : Alagar Hills (Madurai district), Kolli Hills (Namakkal district), Shevaroy Hills, Kalrayan Hills, Bodamalai Hills (Salem district), Pachamalai Hills (Tiruchirapalli district), Chitteri Hills, Yelagiri Hills (Vellore district), Sirumalai Hills (Dindigul district), Piranmalai Hills (Sivaganga district), Theerthamalai Hills, Dharmapuri Hills (Dharmapuri district), Gingee Hill (Villipuram district), Javadu Hills (Tiruvannamalai district)
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Changlang, Tirap
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Native : Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Indo-China, Malesia, Myanmar, Siam
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4
    • J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2
    • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
    • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
    • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
    • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
    • Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • G.S Giri., A.Pramanik., H.J. Chowdhery., G.D Pal and S.K. Das (2008). Materials for Arunachal Pradesh, Vol (2), Pg: 176
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Strychnos nux-vomica. Downloaded on 21 November 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Habitat

India Distribution

World Distribution

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