Rauvolfia
Rauvolfia (sometimes spelled "Rauwolfia") is a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, commonly known as devil peppers, in the family Apocynaceae. The genus is named to honor Leonhard Rauwolf. The genus can mainly be found in tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and various oceanic islands. Spelling. The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants stipulates that the genus name was established by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 book "Species Plantarum", which cites his earlier description which states in Botanical Latin that the name is dedicated "to Leonhard Rauwolf": ""Leon. Rauvolfio"". Although some subsequent authors hypercorrected  the Classical Latin letter "v" to a modern "w", this is not accepted by the code of nomenclature. Chemical constituents. "Rauvolfia serpentina", commonly known as Indian snakeroot or "sarpagandha", contains many indole alkaloids. Medicinal uses. Reserpine is an alkaloid first isolated from "R. serpentina" and was widely used as an antihypertensive drug Conservation. "Rauvolfia serpentina" is declining in the wild due to collection for its medicinal uses. Consequently, it is listed in CITES Appendix II. "Rauvolfia vomitoria" is a highly invasive species in Hawaii, and is capable of establishing dense monotypic stands. Species. Species include: