Town Planning Review | 2019
Unusual lobed leaf development of the endemic medicinal plant Jatropha maheswarii Subr. & Nayar (Euphorbiaceae).
Abstract
INTRODUCTION India is a tropical country with rich diversity of medicinal plant resources. In recent years study on the medicinal plants has gained more momentum. The genus “Jatropha” of Euphorbiaceae is mainly focussed on its biodiesel yielding property than its medicinal importance. Jatropha maheswarii Subr. & Nayar is endemic to the red clayey soils of southern east coastal regions of Thiruchendur, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu and also in hilly regions of Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala (AbdulKader 2014). It is commonly called as “Aadalai” (Ahmedullah & Nayar 1986) or “Veladalai” by the local people. It is named after Prof. Maheswarii (1904–1966), Indian botanist. It is an evergreen shrub which grows about 2.0–2.5 m in height, drought-hardy and rhizomatous plant. This plant is used by the local people to treat skin diseases and to stop haemorrhage (Sumathi & Uthayakumari 2014). This plant used by the locals against rheumatism, ringworms and as an insecticide (Viswanathan et al. 2004). Since this taxon is less explored it was selected for the study.