Common name: Kumarika
Botanical name: Smilax ovalifolia
Family: Smilacaceae (Smilax family)
Kumarika is an armed or unarmed climber. Leaves leathery, shining, 7-15 x 4-11 cm, broadly ovate to elliptic, base rounded or shortly wedge-shaped; 3-5-nerved. Leaf stalk 1.5 cm long, base sheathing, with tendrils at the end. Flowers white, in dense umbels in leaf axils, 1-3 on a common peduncle. Bracts ovate. Perianth recurved in mature flowers, outer 3 segments, 4 mm long, oblong, inner narrower. Stamens about as long as the perianth. It is found from the Himalayan region in the north to Peninsular India. Flowering: January-April.
Medicinal uses: The roots of Kumarika are used for veneral diseases. Also applied in rheumatic swellings and given in urinary complaints and dysentery.
Source: Flower of India