About Rotheca serrata (L.) Steane & Mabb.
Rotheca serrata (L.) Steane & Mabb. is a small bush that grows up to 2.4 meters (8 feet) tall. It has squarish stems that are only sparsely branched, and new growth is glabrous (hairless). Its leaves grow in opposite pairs, or sometimes three leaves develop at a single node. Leaves are oval, serrated, hairless, with an acute base and a thick petiole. This species produces showy flowers that grow in cymes, which are covered with short, soft, erect hairs. Individual small flowers are arranged into an erect, pyramidal panicle that can reach 25 centimeters (10 inches) long. Each flower has a blue, cylindrical corolla that is hairless on the outside and hairy on the inside, with arching stamens that extend out from the corolla. The four upper lobes of the corolla are flat and spreading, while the lowest lobe forms a concave lip. The fruit is a four-lobed fleshy drupe that is green when unripe and turns black when mature. Rotheca serrata is native to eastern India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, where it grows in forests. This plant is used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat snake bites.
