any shrub or small tree of the genus Rauwolfia having leaves in whorls and cymose flowers; yield substances used medicinally especially as emetics or purgatives or antihypertensives • Syn: rauwolfia • Hypernyms: shrub, bush • Hyponyms: snakewood, Rauwolfia serpentina • Member Holonyms: genus Rauwolfia, genus Rauvolfia