Watercress Guava

Local name: Nom-in (Surat Thani) / Pak bok choi (Northern) / Watercress (Bangkok)

Common name Madagascar periwinkle

Scientific name Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don

Genus Catharanthus

roseus species

Synonym

Ammocallis rosea (L.) Small

Catharanthus roseus var. albus G. Don

Catharanthus roseus var. roseus

Hottonia littoralis Lour.

Lachnea rosea (L.) Rchb.

Family name APOCYNACEAE

 Plant group

flowering plants

Botanical characteristics

The trunk is a herbaceous plant, 25-120 cm tall. The bark is smooth. It is brown mixed with green and has white rubber.

The leaves are single, arranged opposite each other. The shape is parallelogram-oval, 1.5-3.0 cm wide, 3-7 cm long. The leaf tip is a thorny lobe. The leaf base is rounded. The leaf margins are smooth. The leaf blades are smooth and dark green, shiny.

The flowers come in clusters of 1-3 flowers in the leaf axils. The flowers are pink or purple and white. The petals are joined together to form a tube. The tip is divided into 5 lobes. The lobes are rounded at the end.

The fruit is cylindrical in shape. The fruit is dry and split on one side. The seeds are black.

Ecological conditions

shaded

ecological conditions

It likes to live in sunny places, tolerates drought, moderate to little water.

Place of origin

It is a plant that is native to Central America. Madagascar Islands

Distribution

Thailand, Burma, China, India

Planting and propagation

Planting seeds and cuttings

Flowering period

All year long

Utilization type

herbs, ornamental plants

The whole plant has a bitter taste. Boiled and drunk, it cures diabetes and lowers blood pressure. The alkaloids Vincristine and Vinblastine are extracted, purified and then used as injections to treat patients with certain cancers such as leukemia.

The leaves have a bitter taste, cure diabetes, nourish the heart, and cure blood cancer in children. Cure various cancers, cure chronic constipation

The roots have a bitter taste, cure dysentery, expel menstruation, cause miscarriage, expel parasites, and stop bleeding.

Source : https://www.royalparkrajapruek.org/Plants