Arisaema tortuosum, Whipcord Cobra Lily

Arisaema tortuosum (Wall.) Schott
Family: Araceae

Synonyms: Arisaema commutatum Schott , Arisaema curvatum (Roxb.) Kunth , Arisaema curvatum Hook., Arisaema filiforme Thwaites , Arisaema helleborifolium Schott, Arisaema steudelii Schott, Arisaema tortuosumvar. curvatum (Roxb.) Engl., Arisaema tortuosum var. helleborifolium (Schott) Engl., Arisaema tortuosum var. steudelii (Schott) Engl., Arisaema tortuosum subsp. tortuosum, Arisaema wightii Hook.f., Arum curvatum Roxb., Arum tortuosum Wall.

Common name: Whipcord Cobra Lily
Hindi: Bagh Jandhra
Marathi: Sardacha-jad
Kannada: Katu senai, Amu-mani-gidda
Konkani: Sarpache-kamdo
Chinese: 曲序南星
Finnish: Mutkakärsäkalla
Swidish: krok kobrakalla

Description: Arisaema tortuosum (Whipcord Cobra Lily) is a plant species in the family Araceae.Whipcord Cobra Lily, Flowers of India It has a distinctive purple or green whip-like spadix which arises from the mouth of its "jack-in the-pulpit" flower and may be up to 30 cm long. Flowers may be male or bisexual. The clustered fruits are green at first, ripening to red.Arisaema Species Five. Pacific Bulb Society The plant grows in large clumps and can be up to 2 metres in height.It occurs in rhododendron forest, scrub and alpine meadows in the Himalayas, western China, southern India and Myanmar.The species is readily propagated from seed or offsets.

Leaves decoction useful in dropsy and snakebite. Root anthelmintic; corm decoction taken for snakebite and scorpion sting; underground stem antifertility, insecticide and insect repellent; corms made into a paste with Curcuma longa and applied for headache and rheumatism; rhizome juice poured in ear for earache; crushed rhizomes
applied or given orally in snakebite. In vitro anticancer activity. Veterinary medicine, dried seed powder in colic pain of goats, sheep; corms used to kill worms in cattle and applied on wounds to kill maggots. [CRC World Dictionary of  MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS PLANTS Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology]

Ethnomedicinal uses: an extract of the tuber is used by tribals as an antidote to poisonous snake bite and also as a blood purifier. The powder of the tuber is divided into three equal doses, and each dose is taken orally once a day for 3 d to cure liver complaints and stomachache. Ethnoveterinary medicinal uses: the fresh tuber is crushed and given to domestic animals along with green fodder for the treatment of fractured bone. A decoction of the tuber is given to animals orally in gastric disorders. [Herbal Drugs: Ethnomedicine to Modern Medicine]

5 Published articles of Arisaema tortuosum
1. HPTLC analysis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities of Arisaema tortuosum tuber extract
Nile, Shivraj Hariram; Park, Se Won
PHARMACEUTICAL BIOLOGY  Volume: 52   Issue: 2   Pages: 221-227   Published: FEB 2014

2. Purification and characterization of a lectin from Arisaema tortuosum Schott having in-vitro anticancer activity against human cancer cell lines
Dhuna, V; Bains, JS; Kamboj, SS; et al.
JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY  Volume: 38   Issue: 5   Pages: 526-532   Published: SEP 30 2005
   
3. CHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF ARISAEMA-TORTUOSUM CORM
MIGLANI B D; CHAWLA A S; GAIND K N
Indian Journal of Pharmacy  Volume: 40   Issue: 1   Pages: 24-25   Published: 1978
   
4. PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF ARISAEMA-TORTUOSUM
MIGLANI B D
Indian Journal of Pharmacy  Volume: 38   Issue: 6   Pages: 159   Published: 1976
   
5. STUDY OF SEED OIL OF ARISAEMA-TORTUOSUM
MIGLANI, BD; CHAWLA, AS; GAIND, KN
PLANTA MEDICA  Volume: 27   Issue: 4   Pages: 385-386   Published: 1975