Calotropis procera
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Species name: Calotropis procera
Calotropis procera is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, that is native to North Africa, Tropical Africa, Western Asia, South Asia, and Indochina. It is commonly known as Apple of Sodom, a name derived from the Hebrew Tapuah Sdom.The green globes are hollow but the flesh contains a toxic milky sap that is extremely bitter and turns into gluey coating resistant to soap. (Source:Wikipedia)
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- Species identity and nomenclature
- Current Wikipedia entry
- Binomial Classification
- Morphological features
- Habitat and Geographical Spread
- Maps
- Medicinal Importance
- Cultural significance
- Commercial importance and cultivation
- Summary of PubMed articles
- Summary of NCBI molecular data
- External Links
- Images and Videos
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Names of users who have contributed to this species page | Gauravm, Ashwinip | |
| Date on which this page was first created | 2010/11/18 | |
| This page was last modified on: | 1 December 2010 13:49:49 | |
| Name of the species | Calotropis procera | |
| ID on Encyclopedia of Life | 585607 | |
| Synonyms | Please check Binomial Classification section for synonyms. | |
| Common English Names | Rubber bush, apple of Sodom | |
| Common Hindi Names | Aak आक, Mudar मुदर | |
| Common Indian names | Aak आक, Mudar मुदर (Hindi) | Flowers of India |
| Origins/Meanings of the common names | The fruit is described by the Roman Jewish historian Josephus, who saw it growing near Sodom: "...as well as the ashes growing in their fruits; which fruits have a color as if they were fit to be eaten, but if you pluck them with your hands, they dissolve into smoke and ashes." (Whiston 1737: Book IV chapter 8 section 4)
Some biblical commentators believe that the Sodom Apple may have been the poisonous gourd (or poison-tasting gourd) that led to "death in the pot" in 2 Kings 4:38–41. In this story, a well-meaning servant of the prophet Elisha gathers herbs and a large quantity of the unknown gourds, and casts them into the pot. After the outcry from the band of prophets, Elisha, instructs them to cast flour into the stew pot, and they are saved. The fibre of the Sodom Apple may have been used for the linen of the high priests. |
Wikipedia |
Taxonomy from Encyclopedia of Life
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{{#EoLOnlyHierarchy:585607}}
Taxonomy filled in form
Click here for the PDF of the phylogeny
| Taxon | Value |
|---|---|
| Regnum (Kingdom) | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Gentianales |
| Family | Asclepiadaceae |
| Genus | Calotropis |
| Source of data | EoL |
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| Division | Taxon details | Taxon morphology details |
|---|---|---|
| Magnoliophyta | Also called Angiospermae. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from gymnosperms around 245–202 million years ago, and the first flowering plants known to exist are from 140 million years ago. They diversified enormously during the Lower Cretaceous and became widespread around 100 million years ago, but replaced conifers as the dominant trees only around 60-100 million years ago. | These are seed plants like Gymnosperms, but can be differentiated by the presence of flowers, seeds containing endosperm and seeds that produce a fruit. Angiosperms are the most diverse and highly evolutionarily successful group of land plants. |
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| Class | Taxon details | Taxon morphology details |
|---|---|---|
| Magnoliopsida | Magnoliopsida is the scientific name for dicots. This class contains about ~1,99,350 species of Angiosperms. Eudicots are a subset of Dicots. Based on chloroplast DNA sequences, the divergence date between monocots and dicots is estimated to be ~200 million years, with a 40 million years uncertainty. | Dicots are diverse in habit, with half of all the species being more or less woody-stemmed - a reflection of the usual presence of a vascular cambium in the class. Annuals, biennials, vines, epiphytes, aquatics, parasites, and saprotrophs are also well represented in dicots. Vascular bundles of the stem are usually borne in a ring that encloses the pith. Vessel elements present except in some putatively primitive woody or aquatic families. Most dicots have a primary root system derived from the radicle, although some have an adventitious root system commonly seen in the class of monocots. Cotyledons are usually 2, seldom 1, 3, or 4. Leaves are mostly net-veined. |
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Based on classification
More details can be found in the Binomial Classification section.
Morphology from Encyclopedia of Life
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{{#EoLOnlyDescription:585607}}
General morphology
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| General morphological features of the plant | Shrubs or small trees to 6 m tall. Petiole very short; leaf blade grayish green or hoary white, ovate to obovate, 10-30 × 5-15 cm, base cordate, apex abruptly pointed. Cymes umbel-like, 3-10-flowered, finely woolly; peduncle 2-5.5 cm. Pedicel 1.5-2.5 cm. Sepals elliptic or ovate, ca. 5 × 3 mm. Flower buds subglobose. Corolla white outside, pinkish inside, 1.5-2 cm in diam.; lobes with purple-brown apices, broadly ovate or ovate-triangular, 7-10 × 6-10 mm, spreading. Corona as long as gynostegium. Follicles subglobose to obliquely ovoid, inflated, 6-10 × 3-7 cm, pericarp thick, spongy. Seeds ca. 6 × 4 mm; coma 3.5-5 cm. Fl. May-Dec. 2n = 22."Shrubs or small trees to 6 m tall. Petiole very short; leaf blade grayish green or hoary white, ovate to obovate, 10-30 × 5-15 cm, base cordate, apex abruptly pointed. Cymes umbel-like, 3-10-flowered, finely woolly; peduncle 2-5.5 cm. Pedicel 1.5-2.5 cm. Sepals elliptic or ovate, ca. 5 × 3 mm. Flower buds subglobose. Corolla white outside, pinkish inside, 1.5-2 cm in diam.; lobes with purple-brown apices, broadly ovate or ovate-triangular, 7-10 × 6-10 mm, spreading. Corona as long as gynostegium. Follicles subglobose to obliquely ovoid, inflated, 6-10 × 3-7 cm, pericarp thick, spongy. Seeds ca. 6 × 4 mm; coma 3.5-5 cm. Fl. May-Dec. 2n = 22." cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. | EoL through eFloras of China |
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| Life cycle of the plant |
How to identify this species
For a detailed description, refer to the General Morphology details above
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Type of plant | ||
| Plant height | ||
| Flower color | ||
| Flower shape | ||
| Floral symmetry | ||
| Phyllotaxy of leaves | ||
| Leaf shape | ||
| Is the leaf petiolated or sessile? | ||
| Is the leaf simple or compound? |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| IUCN Conservation Status | ||
| Indian States in which the species has been documented | Assam,Andhra Pradesh,Arunachal Pradesh,Bihar,Delhi,Goa,Gujarat,Jammu and Kashmir,Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra,Meghalaya,Punjab,Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu,Uttarakhand,Uttar Pradesh | plant database of india |
| Locations at which the species has been documented | Agra;Akola;Balaghat;Bangalore;Banswara;Belgaum;Bhagalpur;Bhopal;Bilaspur;Chamoli;Chandrapur;Chattarpur;Damoh;Dehradun;Diu;Durg;Gorakhpur;Hoshangabad;Jabalpur;Kolhapur;Madurai;Majuli;Medak;Nasik;Osmanabad;Panna;Pune;Raipur;Rajnandgaon;Rewa;Sagar;Satna;Seoni;Shahdol;Shimla;Sidhi;Tonk;Tumkur | |
| Biotic zones inhabited | Northwestern Himalayas, Western Ghats, Central Deccan Plateau, West Coast | |
| Details about the habitat | ||
| Is this species native to India? | ||
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Sub-Himalayan regions? | ||
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Western Ghats? | ||
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Eastern Ghats? |
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Plant is not native or native status not filled in |
If no maps are displayed below, it means the required data is absent. Click on "Edit with form" button on top of the page to add this information.
{{#generateMap:Assam,Andhra Pradesh,Arunachal Pradesh,Bihar,Delhi,Goa,Gujarat,Jammu and Kashmir,Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra,Meghalaya,Punjab,Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu,Uttarakhand,Uttar Pradesh|Calotropis_procera_brahma.svg|align=center}}
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Does this species have any medicinal use? |
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Other plants of the same family having medicinal use: |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| General types of ailments this species is used for treating | Pains and Inflammation, Common ailments | |
| Specific ailments for which the species is used | anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant | |
| Medicinal systems which use this plant | Ayurveda, Folk Medicine | |
| Details of Medicinal use | ||
| Parts of the plant used for treatment | ||
| Names of some medicinal active compounds in this plant, if known. | ||
| Details of the active chemical compounds found in this plant | ||
| Is the molecular basis of the medicinal action known? | ||
| Details of molecular basis of action | ||
| Are the toxic effects of consumption of this plant known? | ||
| Details of the toxic effects of the plant species | ||
| Have there been validation/clinical studies related to this plant? | ||
| Details of the clinical studies related to the plant species |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Is this plant/plant-derived product used in food preparations? | ||
| Part(s) of the plant used in the food preparations | ||
| Details of use in food preparations | ||
| Does this species have any religious significance? | ||
| Religions which mention/give significance to this species | ||
| Religious occasions | ||
| Details of religious use |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Is this plant cultivated commercially in India? | ||
| Uses for which the plant is commercially cultivated | ||
| Plant parts of commercial value | ||
| Products where this plant is used | User-reported | |
| Description of use | ||
| States where this plant is cultivated commercially | ||
| Best period for planting this plant | ||
| Best period for harvesting this plant | ||
| Method of propagation | ||
| Water requirement of this plant | ||
| Pests and Diseases affecting this plant during cultivation | ||
| Other considerations while cultivating this plant |
Pubmed Word cloud
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- If there is an error message below, it means that there is no retrievable information available on NCBI
- If the number of nucleotide sequences is less than 100, very little genomic work has been done on this species. A respectable number of nucleotide sequences is above 10000.
- Most of the nucleotide sequences may come from three sources:
- Studies on single genes, where people try to sequence genes such as some specific dehydrogenases important,say, for tannin production
- Sequences of Ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer, whose sequence is used for generating molecular phylogenetic trees to establish species relationships
- Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) which can tell about which genes are present and expressed in the species at a particular time in the given tissue
{{#queryDB:taxonomy |Calotropis procera }}
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Details of modern scientific knowledge available for this species | ||
| Are herbarium specimen available for this species? | ||
| Institutes having herbarium samples |
If nothing is displayed in this section, it means the EoL ID has not been defined. Please click on Edit with form button on top and follow the instructions for filling in the EoL ID
{{#EoLOnlyAdditionalInfo:585607}}
References
{{{refkeyword}}} (Journal) : Vijay L. Kumar* and Sanjeev Roy (2007),Calotropis procera Latex Extract Affords Protection against Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Freund's Complete Adjuvant-Induced Monoarthritis in Rats, Mediators Inflamm:{{{volume}}}({{{issue}}}):{{{page}}}. doi=10.1155/2007/47523.
{{{refkeyword}}} (Journal) : Soneera Arya and Vijay L Kumar (2005),Antiinflammatory Efficacy of Extracts of Latex of Calotropis procera Against Different Mediators of Inflammation, Mediators Inflamm:31(4):228. doi=10.1155/MI.2005.228.
{{{refkeyword}}} (Journal) : {{{author}}} (2006),ISSN 1007-9327 CN 14-1219/R World J Gastroenterol 2006 April 28;12(16): 2517-2522 Anticancer and cytotoxic properties of the latex of Calotropis procera in a transgenic mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma, World J Gastroenterol:12(16):2517. doi={{{doi}}}
Flowers of India (Web): Flowers of India entry, Accessdate=2010-11-18
EoL (Web): Encyclopedia of Life entry, Accessdate=2010-11-18
Wikipedia (Web): Wikipedia entry, Accessdate=2010-11-18
eFloras of China (Web): eFloras of China, Accessdate=2010-11-18
Plant database of India (Web): Plant database of India, Accessdate=2010-12-1
{{{refkeyword}}} (Web): [{{{url}}} {{{title1}}}], Accessdate={{{year}}}-{{{month}}}-{{{date}}}
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