Botanical name:Ophiorrhiza brunonisFamily:Rubiaceae (Coffee family) Synonyms: Ophiorrhiza brunonis var. hirsutior, Ophiorrhiza brunonis var. johnsonii
Brown's Snake Root is a small subshrub with branches
velvet-hairy. It was believed to be extinct, but was rediscovered in
2013. It is named for Robert Brown, 19th century Scottish botanist.
Leaves are to 20 x 7 cm, lanceshaped, tapering, hairless except the
nerves; nerves 10-12 pairs, arching; leaf-stalk 2-4 cm long, bristly;
stipule 10 mm long, lanceshaped, hairless. White flowers are borne in
cymes 5-7 cm broad, at branch-ends, corymbose; flower-cluster-stalk 2-6
cm long, bristly. Flowers are 5-15 mm long, densely arranged;
bracteoles 1.3 cm long, thread-like, hairy; sepals 2 mm long, hairy.
Flower tube is 8 mm long, bristly, petals ovate, blunt, 1.5-4.5 x
0.75-1.5 mm, not keeled. Anthers are 2-3.25 mm long, linear. Brown's
Snake Root is endemic to the Southern Western Ghats. Flowering:
February-September.
Identification credit: P.S. Sivaprasad
Photographed in Eravikulam National Park, Distt. Idukki, Kerala.
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The flower labeled Brown's Snake Root is ...