Tabernaemontana divaricata

Tabernaemontana divaricata
Crape Jasmine.jpg
Crape jasmine
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T. divaricata
Binomial name
Tabernaemontana divaricata
R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult.

Tabernaemontana divaricata (Apocynaceae), commonly called pinwheelflower,crape jasmine, East India rosebay and Nero's crown is an evergreen shrub native to India and now cultivated throughout South East Asia and the warmer regions of continental Asia. In zones where it is not hardy it is grown as a house/glasshouse plant for its attractive flowers and foliage. The stem exudes a milky latex when broken, whence the name milk flower (দুধফুল), টগর or কাঠমল্লিকা in the Bengali language.[citation needed].

It is called "నందివర్దనం" (nandi vardhanam) in Telugu, "நந்தியார்வட்டை" (nandiar vattai) in Tamil, "നന്ത്യാർവട്ടം" (nanthyaar vattam) in Malayalam, "നന്ത്യാർവട്ടം" (nandi battalu) in Kannada and "तगर" (tagar) in Marathi. Other Indian names includes chandni. It is known as wathusudda වතුසුද්ද (meaning "garden white") in the Sinhalese language. In Cambodia, it is called phka nuon srei ផ្កានួនស្រី or phka dâk khut ផ្កាដកឃុត.

The plant contains several alkaloids and, like many other Apocynaceae, is toxic and medicinal.

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