Distribution and Habitat: Throughout India 

Botany: Large shrub or small tree up to 6 m in height 

• Leaves: Simple, arranged in whorls of 3-6, membranous, lanceolate, margins wavy
• Flowers : White, arranged in terminal sub umbellate cymes or in racemes. 
  Fruits : Fusiform with stalked and beaked follicles, tapering at both ends. 
  Seeds: Many flattened with a tuft of hair at each end.

Parts used: roots, fruits

Uses: 

• Roots are useful in skin diseases, erysipelas, leprosy, cobra bite and other venomous bites, epilepsy, fatigue, fever and otalgia.
• Fruits are useful in syphilis, insanity and epilepsy.
• Alcoholic extract of the fruits showed initial activation effect on acetylcholine esterase, followed alternately by inhibition and activation of the enzyme.

Chemical constituents: 

• The plant is a rich source of indole alkaloids. Alkaloids are present in various parts.
• Stem bark and root contain venenatine, alstovenine, 3-dehydroalstovenine and reserpine.
• Stem bark contains venoxidine, anhydroalstonatine, kopsinine, venalstonine, venalstoruidine, echitovenine and veneserpine.
• Fruits contain echitovenidine, (+)minovincinine, echitoserpidine, echitoserpine, echitoveniline, 11-methoxy echitovonidine, 11-methoxy (-) minovinicinine, echitoserpiline, (-)vincadifformine, 11-methoxy(-)vincadifformine and venoterpine.
• Leaves contain echitovenaldine, echitoveniline, alstolenine, deacetylakuammiline, polynuridine, dihydropolynuridine and raucaffrininoline.
• Fruits contain b-amyrin  acetate and lupeol ester of  b-hydroxy acid .

Agrotechnology

Propagation: By seeds and rooted thin stem cuttings.  3months old seedlings are used for transplanting. 

Spacing : 3 m x 3m 

Harvesting: Flowers are formed in the first year itself.  It can be used for medicinal purposes after seven years of growth.