Tabernaemontana divaricata

Tabernaemontana divaricata commonly called pinwheel flower,[2] crape jasmine, East India rosebay and Nero's crown[3] is an evergreen shrub native to South Asia and now cultivated throughout South East Asia and the warmer regions of continental Asia. In zones where it is not hardy it is grown as a house/glasshouse plant for its attractive flowers and foliage. The stem exudes a milky latex when broken, whence the name milk flower.

Tabernaemontana divaricata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Tabernaemontana
Species:
T. divaricata
Binomial name
Tabernaemontana divaricata
R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult.
Synonyms[1]

Description

The plant generally grows to a height of 5–6 feet (1.5–1.8 m) and is dichotomously branched. The large shiny leaves are deep green and about 6 inches (15 cm) in length and 2 inches (5.1 cm) in width. The waxy blossoms are found in small clusters on the stem tips. The (single) flowers have the characteristic 'pinwheel' shape also seen in other genera in the family Apocynaceae such as Vinca and Nerium. Both single and double-flowered forms are cultivated, the flowers of both forms being white. The plant blooms in spring but flowers appear sporadically all year. The flowers of the single form are unscented but the double-flowered form has a pleasing fragrance.[4] More than 66 alkaloids are found in the shrub.[5]

  • Tabernaemontana divaricata 'Flore Pleno'
  • Crape jasmine bunch
  • Tabernaemontana divaricata 'Pinwheel'
  • Tabernaemontana divarcata yet to blossom
  • Caterpillar of Oleander hawk-moth feeding on pinwheel flower plant

Phytochemistry

The species is known to produce many alkaloids including catharanthine, conophylline, ibogamine, tabersonine and voacristine.[6]

References
  1. "Tabernaemontana divaricata (L.) R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. "Tabernaemontana divaricata". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  3. Medicinal Plants of India and Pakistan, Dastur J.F., pub.1962 by D.P. Taraporevala Sons and Co. Private Ltd., Mumbai, 4th Indian reprint 1977
  4. The Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening ed. Chittenden,Fred J. 2nd ed. by Synge,Patrick M. Volume IV : Pt-Zy, p.2074 (as T. coronaria). Pub. Oxford at the Clarendon Press 1965. Reprinted 1984. ISBN 0-19-869106-8
  5. Perry, Lily M. (1980). Medicinal Plants of East and Southeast Asia: Attributed Properties and Uses. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-16076-6.
  6. Kulshreshtha, Ankita; Saxena, Jyoti (2019). "Alkaloids and Non Alkaloids of Tabernaemontana divaricata" (PDF). International Journal of Research and Review. 6 (8): 517–524.
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