Description

Devil Tree or Indian devil tree scientifically known as Alstonia venenata is an evergreen tropical tree in the family Apocynaceae. The plant is native to the lowland and mountain rainforests of Indian subcontinent, Malay Peninsula, and Australasia. The plant grows throughout the humid regions of India, especially in West Bengal and west-coast forests of south India. It is believed that if the plant is in the trunk, the snake will not come near it. It is also an excellent remedy for snake venom. Indole is a substance found in the bark and pods of this plant.

Characteristics:

Poison Devil Tree is a large shrub or small tree, growing up to 6 m tall with grayish brown bark and bright yellow hard woody root. Leaves are simple arranged in whorls of 3-6. They are lanceshaped, membraneous, with wavy margins. Flowers are white, occuring in clusters at branch ends. Fruits are fusiform, stalked and beaked follicles, tapering both ends. Seeds are flat with tufts of hair in each end. bark: Pale brown, smooth – scaly, with large horizontal lenticels, peeling off in rectangular flakes Leaf: Upper side of the leaves are glossy, while the underside is greyish. Leaves occur in whorls of three to ten; petioles are 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in); the leathery leaves are narrowly obovate to very narrowly spathulate, base cuneate, apex usually rounded; lateral veins occur in 25 to 50 pairs, at 80-90° to midvein Flowers: Flowers strongly perfumed, about 5-10 mm diam. Calyx lobes about 1.8-2.2 mm long, sparsely or densely pubescent. Corolla tube about 5-9 mm long, sparsely to densely pubescent in the throat, lobes about 1.5-4.3 mm long, sparsely to densely pubescent, with the left margins overlapping. Anthers about 0.8-0.9 x 0.3 mm Fruit: Fertilized flowers are followed by thin pods that can grow up to 20 inches long. Fruit a pendulous, two-lobed, dehiscent follicle, brown or green, dry or woody, spindle-shaped, 15-32 cm long, 4-6 mm in diameter, containing numerous flat, oblong, brown seeds, 4-5 mm long and  0.9-1.2 mm broad, with a tuft of hairs 7-13 mm long at each end. The seed does not taper to a point at either end. Seeds are dispersed by wind.

Medicinal uses:

Roots and fruits are believed to be useful for skin diseases, leprosy, cobra and other venomous bites, epilepsy, fatigue, fever, syphilis, insanity, helminthiasis, epilepsy, as remedy for impure blood.