About Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) Kuntze
Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) Kuntze, commonly called snake jasmine, is a plant native to tropical Asia and the western Indian Ocean. It is a slender, erect, branched, somewhat hairy shrub that grows 1 to 2 meters tall. Its leaves are oblong, 4 to 10 centimeters long, and narrowed and pointed at both ends. The inflorescence is a spreading, leafy, hairy panicle, with flowers usually borne in clusters. The calyx is green, hairy, and approximately 5 millimeters long. The corolla-tube is greenish, slender, cylindric, and around 2 centimeters long. The flowers are two-lipped; the upper lip is white, erect, oblong or lance-shaped, 2-toothed at the apex, and about 3 millimeters long and 3 millimeters wide. The lower lip is broadly obovate, 1.1 to 1.3 centimeters long and 1.1 to 1.3 centimeters wide, 3-lobed, white, and marked with a few tiny brownish dots near its base. The fruit is a club-shaped capsule that holds 4 seeds. This plant has been used in the treatment of snake bites.
