Podophyllum hexandrum
Royle, Illus. Bot. Himal. 64. 1834; Cambess. in
Jacquem., Voy. Ind. 2: 10, t.9. 1844. P. emodi Wallich ex Honigberger, Thirtyfive years in the East 329, t.20. 1852; Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 112. 1872, nom. illeg. P. emodi var. hexandrum (Royle). Chatterjee & Mukerjee in Rec. Bot. Surv. India 16(2): 45. 1953.
Hindi: Bankakdi (H.P.).
Herbs, erect, 15 - 30 (-45) cm high, glabrous, succulent; scales of rootstock ovate-lanceolate, up to 5 x 1 - 2 cm; stems 15 - 50 cm high, leafy at top. Leaves 2, alternate, deflexed at first, peltate, orbicular-reniform in outline, 6 - 15 x 3.5 - 10 cm, plaited at venation, palmately divided almost to base into 3 broadly elliptic or obovate segments, cuneate at base, acute at apex, serrate along margins, pubescent beneath; segments undivided or 2 - 3-lobed to middle; petioles up to 20 cm long. Flowers solitary, erect, rarely 2, cup-shaped, ca 3.5 cm across, pinkish white; peduncle erect, elongating to 2 - 3 cm in fruit, thickened. Sepals 3, broadly oblong, petaloid, caducous. Petals 6, obovate-oblong, 1 - 3 x 1 - 1.5 cm, white or pink. Stamens 6; filaments slightly flattened; anthers ca 3 mm long. Style short; stigma crest-like, ridged. Berry oblong-ovoid, 2.5 - 5(-6) x 2 - 3 cm, reddish scarlet, borne on 2 - 5 cm long pedicel. Seeds many, enveloped in pulp, obovoid or suborbicular, 2 - 3 mm across.
Fl. & Fr. April - June.
Distrib. India: Alpine Himalayas, 3000 - 4000 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Nepal, Bhutan and China.
Notes. The shape of leaves is variable. Recently this species has been placed under a separate monotypic genus, Sinopodophyllym Ying. See Soejarto et al. (in Taxon 28: 549 - 551. 1979) for discussions on the nomenclature of this species. Fruits are edible. Rhizomes are medicinal. Decoction of roots is used in diarrhoea and liver troubles. It is also used to promote conception (Kapahi in J. Bcon. Tax. Bot. 14: 53. 1990)See Krishnamurty et al (in Indian For. 91: 470 - 475. 1965) for details on the cultivation and exploitation of Podophyllum in India.
Herbs, erect, 15 - 30 (-45) cm high, glabrous, succulent; scales of rootstock ovate-lanceolate, up to 5 x 1 - 2 cm; stems 15 - 50 cm high, leafy at top. Leaves 2, alternate, deflexed at first, peltate, orbicular-reniform in outline, 6 - 15 x 3.5 - 10 cm, plaited at venation, palmately divided almost to base into 3 broadly elliptic or obovate segments, cuneate at base, acute at apex, serrate along margins, pubescent beneath; segments undivided or 2 - 3-lobed to middle; petioles up to 20 cm long. Flowers solitary, erect, rarely 2, cup-shaped, ca 3.5 cm across, pinkish white; peduncle erect, elongating to 2 - 3 cm in fruit, thickened. Sepals 3, broadly oblong, petaloid, caducous. Petals 6, obovate-oblong, 1 - 3 x 1 - 1.5 cm, white or pink. Stamens 6; filaments slightly flattened; anthers ca 3 mm long. Style short; stigma crest-like, ridged. Berry oblong-ovoid, 2.5 - 5(-6) x 2 - 3 cm, reddish scarlet, borne on 2 - 5 cm long pedicel. Seeds many, enveloped in pulp, obovoid or suborbicular, 2 - 3 mm across.
Fl. & Fr. April - June.
Distrib. India: Alpine Himalayas, 3000 - 4000 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Nepal, Bhutan and China.
Notes. The shape of leaves is variable. Recently this species has been placed under a separate monotypic genus, Sinopodophyllym Ying. See Soejarto et al. (in Taxon 28: 549 - 551. 1979) for discussions on the nomenclature of this species. Fruits are edible. Rhizomes are medicinal. Decoction of roots is used in diarrhoea and liver troubles. It is also used to promote conception (Kapahi in J. Bcon. Tax. Bot. 14: 53. 1990)See Krishnamurty et al (in Indian For. 91: 470 - 475. 1965) for details on the cultivation and exploitation of Podophyllum in India.
