Rauwolfia Serpentina
Rauwolfia Serpentina, or Indian Snakeroot, a shrub of southeastern Asia. It is valued for its rootstock, from which the drug reserpine is obtained. The shrub grows 8 to 24 inches (20 to 60 cm) tall. It bears lance-shaped leaves in whorls of three and a dome-shaped head of tiny pink or white flowers. In India the rootstock has been used for centuries to treat mental disorders and snakebite, to reduce fevers, and to induce childbirth. Reserpine is now used primarily to treat hypertension (high blood pressure).
R. serpentina belongs to the dogbane family, Apocynaceae.