Rauvolfia serpentina, the Indian snakeroot, devil pepper, or serpentine wood, is a species of flower in the milkweed family Apocynaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia (from India to Indonesia). Rauvolfia is a perennial undershrub widely distributed in India in the sub-Himalayan regions up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).
It is the source of the phytochemical, reserpine, which has been used in the treatment of systolic hypertension.
Rauvolfia serpentina contains dozens of alkaloids ...