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Family • Loranthaceae
Bogto
Viscum orientale Willd.

Scientific names Common names
Viscum orientale Willd. Botgo (Tagb.)
Viscum heyneanum DC.  
Viscum obtusatum DC.  
Viscum ovalifolium DC.  
Viscum verticillatum Roxb.  
Viscum pamattonis Korth.  
Viscum roxburghiana Korth.  
Viscum navicellatum Korth.  
Viscum philippense Llanos  
Viscum monoicum Presl  
Viscum opuntioides Cav.  
Viscum orientale Willd. is an unresolved name. The record derives from WCSP (in review) which does not establish this name either as an accepted name or as a synonym with original publication details: Sp. Pl. 4: 737 1806. The Plant List ) (3)

Other vernacular names
BENGALI: Banda.

Gen info
Botgo

Botany
Botgo is a rather, slender, strongly branched, semi-parasitic shrub. Leaves are opposite, with the petiole not distinguishable from the blade, lanceolate to roundish obovate, up to 8.5 centimeters long, 3.5 centimeters wide, and obscurely 3- to 5-nerved, the base obtuse or rounded, or somewhat wedge-shaped. Flowers are few or many, in stalkless or short cymes, of which the middle flower is female and 1.5 to 2 millimeters long, and the lateral ones, male. Fruit is roundish-ellipsoidal, up to 5 milimeters long, 4 milimeters in diameter, smooth, and yellowish or brownish-green.

Distribution
- Found In Benguet to Quezon Provinces in Luzon; in Lubang; and in Palawan.
- Parasitic on various species of trees at low and medium altitudes.
- Also occurs in India to southern China and southward to Australia.

Properties
 - Plant considered poisonous.
- Considered to possess medicinal properties more or less similar to those of the tree on which it grows.

Parts used
Leaves.

Uses
Folkloric
- Plant considerde poisonous; in India used as a substitute for nux-vomica.
- Used for pustular itches. Leaves are burned to ashes which are then mixed with sulphur and coconut oil, and rubbed on the body.
- In India's Kalahandi district of Orissa, V. orientale is used with the host plant: Fruits are ground together with equal quantities of the host plant and made into small pills, one pill is taken daily every morning for 4-5 days for giddiness and stiffness. (2)
- In Bangladesh, poultice of leaves used for neuralgia.

Studies
• Antibacterial: In a study of aqueous extracts of 46 plants, Viscum orientale was one of 12 plants that exhibited antibacterial activity. Viscum orientale was effective against all test bacteria except E. coli, P. aeruginosa, P mirabilis and Strep faecalis. (1)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Last Update March 2013
IMAGE SOURCE: Viscum orientale. Sixtus & Arckenh. del. Sixtus lith. Chr.litho. 45 x 27,5 cm From: Flore Javae. Tab. XXIV. / C.L.Blume (1789-1862) FLORE JAVAE .(Flora of Java), Brussels, 1829. / Botanical Prints / Xeno Art

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Evaluation of the Antibacterial Potential of Some Plants Against Human Pathogenic Bacteria / S Satish, M P Raghavendra, and K A Raveesha / Advances in Biological Research 2 (3-4): 44-48, 2008
(2)
Ethno-medico-botanical survey of Kalahandi district of Orissa / Sobhagini Nayak, Soumit K Behera, and Malaya K Misra / Indian Jour of Traditional Knowledge, Vol 3 (1), Jan 2004, pp 72-79
(3)
Viscum orientale / The Plant List

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