Naming Identity

Widuri or Biduri is scientifically called Calotropis gigantea in Latin. Internationally, in English, this plant is known as crown flower or giant milk weed. In India, this plant is known as madar while in Spanish and French-speaking areas it is generally known as mudar.

Biduri has quite a variety of other names according to the regional language in Indonesia. Such as Rubik in the Aceh region, Biduri, Rembega, and Remingu (in the Malay family of languages) Rumbigo  in the Minangkabau region, Widuri in the Sunda region, Biduri, Saduri, Sidoguri, and Widuri in the Central Java and East Java regions, Bidhuri in the Madura region. As well as Maduri on the island of Bali, Muduri, Rembiga, Kore, Krokoh, Kolonsusu, Modo Kapauk, and Modo Kampauk in the Nusa Tenggara region, and Rambega  in the Sulawesi region (Alamendah, 2014).

Taxonomy

Origin

This plant is known to originate from the Asian region which includes Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and China.

Shape Description, Growth and Habitat

Crown flower is a shrub with a height that can reach up to 4 meters. The stems are erect, branched, cylindrical, dense, and contain a milky white sap. Crown flower leaves are single leaves, opposite each other, oval-shaped with a blunt tip and a curved base, and flat leaf edges. The leaves are whitish green, measuring 8 to 30 cm long and 4 to 15 cm wide. The leaves also have short stalks and pinnate spines. The upper surface of the leaves is thickly hairy when young and gradually disappears when old.

Its flowers are compound with an umbrella shape that grows at the end of the twigs (terminal) or in the leaf axils. The flower stalks are long (3-5 cm) with spread petals and ovate shoots, soft hairy, and green in color, and have narrow bracts. The stamens form a tube and the stigma is wide and pentagonal. The flower crown is egg-shaped, white or purplish white with a diameter of 4-4.5 cm.

Its fruit is oval and elongated like a tube with a hook-shaped tip and is green in color. Fruit measures 9 to 10 cm long. The seeds are small, oval, flat, and brown with short and thick hair. The seeds have tufts of long silk-like hairs, so the seeds can be blown by the wind. Thistle can be propagated by seed.

In Indonesia, many of the plants appear to grow wild in the Cirebon area, West Java, especially the Setu Patok lake area, Ciperna, Harjamukti district and the area around Perumnas.

Benefits and Efficacy of Crown Flowers for Health

In many cultures and traditions, this plant is known to have many uses and medicinal properties. Among them are to help treat various disorders related to the central nervous system, skin diseases, digestive system, respiratory system, and reproductive system.

Indigenous people use this plant as a part of their lives by using the fruit fiber to make rope, household tools and weave clothes. Meanwhile, the flowers are used to decorate flower bouquets.

Most of the uses of crown flowers have also been validated by scientific studies such as for analgesic, anti-rheumatic, anti-asthmatic, anti-bacterial, anti-seizure, antipyretic, central nervous system disorders, contraception, anti-ulcer, and wound healing (Kadiyala et al., 2013). Apart from that, other studies such as anti-diabetic, anti-diarrhea, anti-worm, anti-histamine, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, heart protective studies, cytotoxicity, hepatoprotective, fibrinolytic, mosquito, neuromuscular activity, vasodilation, and skeletal muscle activity have also been reported with the use of this plant.

Crown Flower as a Poisonous Plant

On the other hand, crown flower is also said to be poisonous, with several parts of the plant containing poison and can cause side effects if consumed by humans. Crown flower or Caloptris can be described as an acute poison that can cause death. If the stems, branches and leaves are cut, crushed or sliced, they will produce milky white latex, which is an acidic juice called madar juice by local people in India.

Primitive human intelligence through observation has resulted in the knowledge that animals will intuitively avoid certain plants. This knowledge then led to faster and easier hunting methods for ancient humans. They would smear the tips of the arrows with juice from poisonous plants, including the Caloptris species, to kill animals more practically (Anil Aggrawal, 2005).

In a published article, Gupta (2018) stated that the parts that are considered poisonous in the biduri plant include the stem, branches, leaves, and milky white sap (madar juice). The main toxic principles of this plant are uscharin, calotoxin, calotropin, and gigantin.

The local toxic symptom of biduri is that it can cause lesions that resemble bruises on the skin (which can then be referred to as artificial injury) which can sometimes lead to the formation of pustules and vesicles. If the juice or juice is put in the eyes or comes into contact with the eyes, it can cause severe conjunctivitis.

Meanwhile, systematically, through its bitter taste, this plant can produce burning pain in the throat, salivation, nausea, vomiting, etc. Followed by diarrhea, abdominal pain, mydriasis, tetanic convulsions, delirium, collapse, and death.