Flora of Bangladesh

Mushok-dana or Musk-mallow ( Abelmoschus moschatus , family: Malvaceae) is a perennial erect herb or undershrub attaining a height of 3 m. Stem is cylindrical and reddish. Young shoots, pedicel and petiole are retrorsely (opposite direction) hairy. The plant almost looks similar to popular vegetable Okra (abelmoschus esculentus). It is found near the water bodies, fallow lands, roadside areas and forest edges in Bangladesh. It is also found in India as well as Southeast Asia. The another Bangla name of the plant is Kala-kosturi. Lower leaves are angular, upper palmately lobed, dark green, oblong-lanceolate, ovate, 20-24 cm long, serrate or dented, hairy on both sides. Leaf-base has a crown-like portion. Petiole is very long.  Flower axillay, solitary and in terminal clusters. They are big, light yellow with dark purple center, petals 5, unequal; corolla 10 cm across. Epicalyx segments 6-10, linear-lanceolate. Flowering occurs in the rainy season. Flowe

Motkila or Gin berry ( Glycosmis pentaphyll a, family: Rutaceae) is a woody shrub with branches, attaining a height of 2-5 m. Bark is yellowish. The leaves are almost like the leaves of Blackberry. In Bangladesh it is found on fallow land and in jungles of rural areas. It is also found in South and Southeast Asia and Australia.                                     Other names:  Datmajon, Ash-sheora, Daton, Atesshor. Leaflets 1-5, green, large, entire, lanceolate-oblong, alternate, petioled, aromatic. Flowers are small, creamy white, pubescent, clustered on terminal cyme.  Fruit is a berry, small, round, light pink or whitish, fleshy and juicy when ripe. Seeds 1-3. Flowers and fruits are found round the year. The evergreen plant is propagated by seeds and cuttings.  Bark, root and wood are used in the treatment of acne, itching, worms, fever, cough etc. Leaf juice is useful in liver disease, gum pain, eczema and skin diseases.  Branches are

Shorpogondha or Sarpagandha ( Rauvolfia serpentina , family: Apocynaceae) is a herbaceous shrub with milky juice. The perennial can grow up to 2 m. It is usually found in moist and shady places near the forests of the South and Southeast Asia.  It is one of the most popular medicinal plants of Indian subcontinent. In Bangladesh, no herbal garden can be imagined without this plant. Common names: Choto chador , Shorpadoni, Shorpokkhi & Black snakeroot (English). Leaves are borne in whorls of 3, elliptic-lanceolate, 10-15 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, acuminate, glossy green upside, pale beneath.  Flowers are terminal, white, reddish at the bottom, corolla tube long, slender, sepals 5, petals 5. Peduncle and sepals are reddish. Fruit is a drupe, round, .5-1 cm in diameter, blackish when mature. Three different colors of fruits (green, red & black) are seen together in a plant.  Propagation of the plant is caused by seeds and cuttings. Flowe