Indian Spurge

Location in BHU campus :Planted near Central Library , IMS campus and Botanical garden.

Botanical name : Euphorbia neriifolia Linn.

Family : Euphorbiaceae

Vernacular / local Name : Bengali – Mansasij, hildaona; Gujarati - Thor, tuaria; Hindi – Pattonkisend, sehund, thohar; Kannada – Yalekalli; Malayalam - Illakalli; Marathi – Neyadunga, mingut; Sanskrit - Snuhi; Tamil – Ilai-kalli; Telugu – Akujemudu.

English / Trade names : Indian Spurge, Hedge Euphorbia, Oleander Spurge.

A large succulent shrub or a small tree, 2-5 m high, with jointed cylindrical or obscurely 5-angled brances, bearing short stipular spines. Leaves fleshy, deciduous, obovate. Flowers in yellowish cyathium which are usually 3-5 together in cymes. Fruit a capsule, 3-lobed.

Flowering and Fruiting: March-June

• Sacred value

The sacredness of the tree can be traced back to Indus valley civilization.

Manasa is believed to be the serpent Goddess and is worshipped particularly in the rainy season to get rid of the dangerous snakes .Snuhi tree is associated with Manasa. It is believed that on the 5th day of dark half of the moon in the month of Sravana (July-August), the Goddess Manasa appears in the tree with eight serpents with spreading hoods, and so is worshipped on that day. The tree is also worshipped by married women for blessing to get a child. A stone piece or brickbat is tied with thread by the side of the tree or the shrine of the deity when a vow is taken. When the tree is not available the branches of the ‘Manasa tree’ are worshipped as a symbol of the deity.

Women, particularly in Bengal plant the cuttings of this tree on Dashara day.

• Uses

The plant is of medicinal value .The latex of the plant is rubefacient, purgative and an expectorant. It is used to remove warts and cutaneous eruptions and in ear ache.